TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM

This memorandum contains the following sections:

Section 1 - INTRODUCTION
Section 2 - DEVELOPMENT OF THE LONG LIST
Section 3 - DEVELOPMENT OF THE SHORT LIST
Section 4 - SUMMARY

Appendix A (65kb Excel) - Long List of Potential Future Water Use Projects

A methodology to identify and screen future water use opportunities was presented in a previous memorandum. As part of the Basin Advisory Group (BAG) process, the Wind/Big Horn Planning team developed a long list of potential structural and non-structural opportunities to meet current and projected water demands over the 30 year planning horizon. Structural opportunities include, but are not limited to storage reservoirs, deep ground water wells, and conveyance system upgrades. Non-structural opportunities include, but are not limited to local and basin-wide conservation, meters, leak detection programs and administrative changes in water rights and water delivery.

After the long list was developed, each long list project was evaluated for the individual criterion on the basis of 1 to 10. After applying the weights to each number, a total “value” of the long list project was established.

Appendix A of this memorandum presents the long list of potential future water use projects with each projects numeric ranking.

Section 2 - DEVELOPMENT OF THE LONG LIST

The level of information and data available for the projects on the list of future water use opportunities varies significantly from very sketchy to completed conceptual designs. Therefore, the exercise of assigning weights to criterion and evaluation scores to projects is totally subjective and the results of the evaluation process can only be interpreted to reflect the knowledge and judgement of the individual assigning the weights and scores. In order to make the process more objective and less subjective, detailed engineering, legal, and environmental investigations would need to be completed to advance all projects to the same level of information and data.

To ensure a fair application of screening criteria, the Basin Planning Team chose to divide the list into Categories and Sub-Categories. These Categories were as follows:

1. Municipal/Industrial
2. Agriculture
3. Environmental and Recreation
4. Religious and Cultural.

Within each Category, up to eight sub-categories might apply and would include:

a. Development of New Sources
b. Distribution of Existing Sources
c. Storage of Existing Sources
d. Water Conservation
e. Water Management
f. Conjunctive Use Options
g. Basin Transfers
h. Development of New Uses

The user is cautioned to avoid a quantitative comparison of projects solely based on their individual performance under the screening criteria and weighting process. With this in mind, the long list was presented to the BAG on a performance basis within the project category and/or subcategory. This process resulted in the establishment of four groups or quartiles as described below:

• Group 1. Projects that scored within the first quartile or the upper 25% of projects within a similar category.
• Group 2 Projects that scored within the second quartile or upper 25 to 50% of projects within a similar category.
• Group 3. Projects that scored within the third quartile or upper 50 to 75% of projects within a similar category.
• Group 4. All other remaining projects

The following tables present the long list of Wind Bighorn Basin future water use opportunities by category. As one can see from this list, water storage opportunities have been studied extensively over the years and there are over 200 potential water storage projects within the Basin. Many of these projects are unrealistic in that they fall in environmentally sensitive areas and may never be permitted or they may not meet a Basin Plan which prioritizes need, water availability and financial feasibility of the project as important parameters.

In many cases several of the proposed long list projects are actually water administration ideas. For example “development and administration of flow augmentation plans” requires Wyoming Legislature, State Engineer and State Board of Control involvement. As more and more Basin municipalities move from a surface water source to a deep Paleozoic well, more “out-of-basin” water (i.e. deep ground water) will be returned to the surface water system. This volume of water may serve as an administrative “credit” for future surface water supply development.

Other long list projects include water conservation ideas. These projects may include implementation of a Leak Detection Program for a municipality and replacement of old, leaking water lines, once the results become known. Although the concept will be implemented, at the time of the development of the long list, no specific sponsor was identified. As such its group weight is lower than if an actually sponsor was identified.

Development of New Resources  

Sub-Category	Location, General Description	Project Description	Group
Groundwater Development	Paleozic Aquifer	Madison Aquifer vic. Of Lander	2
		Madison Aquifer vic. Of Southern Bighorn Basin	1
		Flathead Aquifer nr. Thermopolis, Hyattville	1
		Tensleep Aquifer nr. Big Trails	4
		Madison Aquifer nr. Hyattville	3
	Tertiary Aquifer	Wind River Aquifer vic. Gas Hills Area	4
		Flooded Uranium Mine Pits nr. Gas Hills	3
Flow Augmentation	Municipal Wastewater, when supplied fm. GW	Worland	1
		Greybull	2
		Basin / Manderson	2
		Hyattville	3
		Tensleep Creek	3
	Cloud Seeding / Weather Modification	Bighorn Mountains	4

Distribution of Existing Resources

Sub-Category	Location, General Description	Project Description	Group
New Canals, Ditches or Pipelines	Municipal Systems Regionalization	Bighorn Regional Joint Powers Board	1
		Lander-Hudson Proposal	1
		Town of Tensleep Regionalization	1
		Dubois Regional	1
	Agricultural Conveyance	Popo Agie River Master Plan	1
		Kirby Creek Master Plan	1
		Owl Creek/Hot Springs Conservation District	2
Storage	Varies	Varies	Varies
Construction of New Municipal Storage	Bighorn Regional Joint Powers Board		1
	Town of Tensleep Regionalization		1
	Hyattville Water System		2

Conservation

Sub-Category	Location, General Description	Project Description	Group
Structural	Municipal/Industrial Users	Meters for Unmetered Municipalities	3
		Leak Detection Program	2
		Utility Line Replacement	2
	Agricultural Users	Lining ditches to reduce seepage losses	2
		Change from open ditch to pipeline	2
		Midvale Irrigation District	1
		LeClair Laterals	1
		Riverton Valley Crossings	1
		More efficient irrigation systems	2
		Low head sprinklers	2
		Soil tensiometers and irrigation scheduling	3
Non-Structural	Municipal/Industrial Users	Reclaimed Water for Irrigation	4
		User rate schedule to promote conservation	3
		Use of raw water for irrigation	4
		Town of Greybull	1
	Agricultural Users	Change in crops to decrease consumptive use	4
		Irrigation Scheduling	4

Management

Sub-Category	Location, General Description	Project Description	Group
Administrative: WSEO	Review of Beneficial Uses		4
	Abandonment of Unused Water Rights		4
	Development and Admin. of Augmentation Plans		2
Cultural or Religious Management	Water use for cultural purposes	Coordinated Releases	1
	Water use for religious purposes	Coordinated Releases	1
Administrative: USBR	Revised Reservoir Operations Schedule	Boysen Reservoir - Lower Winter Releases	3
		Boysen Reservoir - Higher Winter Releases	3

Conjunctive Use

Sub-Category	Location, General Description	Project Description	Group
Storage and Delivery Options	Lined Gravel Pits nr. River	Opportunities near Worland, Greybull and Cody	3
	Aquifer Storage and Retrieval	Recharge of alluvial system along Bighorn River	4
		Recharge of alluvial system along Upper Wind R.	2

Basin Transfers

Sub-Category	Location, General Description	Project Description	Group
Transbasin Diversions(In-Basin)	Clarks Fork to Greybull River	Pipeline	1
	Wood River to Gooseberry Creek	Excess storage in Sunshine Res. And pipeline	2
	Wood River to Cottonwood/Grass Creek	Excess storage in Sunshine Res. And pipeline	2
Transbasin Diversions(Out-of-Basin)	Transfer to Colorado River Basin	Pipeline and Reservoir	4
	Transfer to North Platte Basin	Pipeline and Reservoir	3

Environmental and Recreation

Sub-Category	Location, General Description	Project Description	Group
Fishing/Environmental/Rafting	In Stream or Minimum Flows		1
	Minimum Reservoir Pool		1
	River Restoration/ Habitat Improvement		2
Recreation and Tourism	Golf Courses		3
	Whitewater Parks		3
	Public Access		4

Development of New Uses  

Sub-Category	Location, General Description	Project Description	Group
Municipal/Industrial	Bottled Water		1
	In-Situ Uranium		4
	Hydropower		4
	Fossil Fuels Power Generation	Wind River Reservation	4
		Grass Ck./Kirby Ck. Near Winchester	4
Agricultural	New Lands to Irrigation	Westside Irrigation Project, Washakie County	1
		Riverton East	1
		North Crowheart	2
		South Crowheart	2
		Bighorn Flats	3
	Improved Distribution of Stock Water	BLM Lands west of Big Trails	2
		Eastern Wind River Basin	3
		Muskrat Creek, Poison Creek, and Badwater Creek	3
		Kirby Creek, Hot Springs County	3
Other Uses	Dust abatement at Buffalo Bill Res.		2

Storage Projects  

Storage Projects	Location	Capacity Acre-Ft	Percentile Ranking
Big Wind River and tributaries aboveconfluence with Little Wind River	Bear Creek	30,500	2
	Brooks Lake	24,500	1
	Bull Lake Dam Enlargement	48,000	1
	Bull Lake Creek No. 1	96,700	2
	Bull Lake Creek No. 2	63,700	1
	Bull Lake Creek No. 3	1,200	2
	Bull Lake Creek No. 4	159,000	1
	Caldwell Creek	45,000	2
	Crow Creek No. 1	36,060	3
	Crow Creek No. 2	43,000	3
	Crowheart No.1	106,701	1
	Crowheart No.2	7,500	2
	Dinwoody Creek No. 1	16,500	1
	Dinwoody Creek No.2	35,000	2
	Dinwoody Lake Enlargement	82,580	2
	Dinwoody Re-Regulation No. 1	40	3
	Dinwoody Re-Regulation No. 2	2,200	2
	Dry Creek No. 1	4,300	3
	Dry Creek No. 2	0	4
	Dry Creek No. 3	22,508	3
	Dry Creek No. 4	116,000	3
	Dry Creek No. 5	0	4
	Dunoir Creek	150,000	2
	Horse Creek	30,000	3
	Kinnear	8,000	2
	Kinnear Reservoir	7,102	1
	LeClair Warm Springs	3,000	2
	Meadow Creek	5,800	4
	Meadow Creek Re-Regulation No. 4	19	3
	Mud Lake	26,208	2
	Ocean Lake Enl	40,400	1
	Off-Channel (site 1)	870	3
	Off-Channel (site 2)	4,200	3
	Off-Channel (site 3)	870	3
	Off-Channel (site 7)	1,850	1
	Passup Creek	4,300	4
	Pilot Butte	0	4
	Red Creek No. 1	2,800	4
	Red Creek No. 2	2,500	4
	Re-Regulation No.3	85	4
	Sand Draw No. 1	27,000	2
	Sand Draw No. 2	40,000	2
	Steamboat	36,000	1
	Tipperay	36,312	3
	Torrey Creek	24,900	2
	Torrey Lake	33,000	2
	Warm Springs Creek	5,000	2
	Wiggins Fork No. 1	325,000	2
	Wiggins Fork No. 2	270,000	2
	Willow Creek No. 1	45,000	4
	Wind River Blue Holes	375,000	1
	Wind River East Fork No. 1	103,000	2
	Wind River East Fork No. 2	25,000	3
	Wind River East Fork No. 3	31,000	2
	Wind River East Fork No. 4	53,500	3
	Wind River East Fork No. 5	68,443	2
	Wind River East Fork No. 6	41,000	3
	Wind River East Fork No. 7	122,560	3
	Wind River No. 1	113,000	1
	Wind River No. 2	112,000	1
	Wind River No. 3	230,000	1
	Wind River No. 4	195,776	1
	Wind River No. 5	62,650	1
	Wind River No. 6	70,494	1
Wind River Phase 1	133,950	1
Little Wind River and tributaries (excluding Popo Agie River and Beaver Creek)	Grave Lake	4,500	3
	Little Wind River No. 1	22,600	1
	Little Wind River No. 2	55,080	2
	Little Wind River No.	55,080	2
	Little Wind River North Fork No. 1	16,500	3
	Little Wind River North Fork No. 2	14,800	2
	Little Wind River North Fork No. 3	0	3
	Mill Creek	3,900	3
	Raft Lake	90,000	3
	Ray Lake Enl.	41,650	1
	Sage Creek No. 1	11,700	3
	Sage Creek No. 2	3,030	1
	Sage Creek South Fork No. 1	10,860	3
	Sage Creek South Fork No. 2	12,300	3
	Sage Creek South Fork No. 3	35,000	3
	Sharp Nose Draw No. 1	2,300	1
	Sharp Nose Draw No. 3	8,500	1
	South Fork Little Wind River No. 1	144,000	2
	South Fork Little Wind River No. 3	13,500	2
	South Fork Little Wind River No. 4	16,300	2
	South Fork Little Wind River No. 2	56,430	1
	St. Lawrence Creek	10,000	3
	Trout Creek No. 1	8,085	3
	Trout Creek No. 2	12,400	4

Storage Projects, Continued    

Storage Projects	Location	Capacity Acre-Ft	Percentile Ranking
Popo Agie River	Bills Park	0	3
	Gill Park	710	2
	Little Popo Agie River	79,000	2
	Louis Lake	8,014	2
	Middle Popo Townsend	0	3
	No. 53 (not named)	9,000	2
	North Popo Agie River	103,000	3
	Off-Channel (site 5)	2,940	1
	Off-Channel (site 6)	2,400	1
	Onion Flats	10,000	1
	Pete's Lake	762	2
	Popo Agie River No. 4	102,336	2
	Popo Agie River No. 1	18,900	1
	Popo Agie River No. 2	38,781	2
	Popo Agie River No. 3	102,336	2
	Sand Hills	20,930	1
	Sharp Nose Draw No. 2	15,336	1
	Surrel Creek No. 1	9,000	2
	Surrel Creek No. 2	16,688	1
	Willow Creek No.2	9,500	1
Beaver Creek (trib. Little Wind River)	Batrum Gap No. 4	34,615	2
	Beaver Creek No. 1	8,820	3
	Beaver Creek No. 2	700	4
	Beaver Creek No. 3	1,200	3
	Beaver Creek No.4	27,324	2
	Off-Channel (site 4)	4,880	1
	Smith and Springolf	426	4
Kirby Draw	Kirby Draw	16,000	4
Muskrat Creek	King Gorm	5,390	4
	Muskrat Conant	2,039	4
	Queen Thyra	1,235	4
Badwater Creek	Badwater Creek (site 4)	1,770	4
	Okie	217	4
	Snyder Creek Detention	347	4
	Waterworks No. 3	211	4
Buffalo Creek trib. Bighorn River	Buffalo Creek	2,700	3
Kirby Creek	Kirby	3,090	3
Bighorn River	Kirby	130,000	2
No Water Creek	Fruitland No. 1	7,245	2
	Fruitland No. 2	5,318	2
	Fruitland No. 4	1,050	3
Nowood River	Big Trails	18,500	4
	Medicine Lodge	2,250	4
	Nowood River	175,000	4
	Paintrock	1,300	4
	Solitude	8,570	4
	Sumit	5,820	3
	Tensleep Meadows	13,490	4
	Tensleep Meadows	13,490	4
	West Tensleep Lake	1,180	4
	Wilson No. 1	386	2
	Wilson No. 2	379	2
Shell Creek	Beaver Creek (Coyote Basin)	1,385	2
	Moberly-Stoddard	248	2
	Moraine Creek No. 1	1,150	2
	Shell Canal	2,100	3
	Shell Creek Lake	2,010	3
East Bighorn Lake Tributaries	Bethwren	1,310	4
	Crystal Creek (not named)	644	3
	Porcupine Creek	14,660	4
	Willis	2,130	3
Fivemile Creek	Five Mile Creek No.1	1,800	3
	Five Mile Creek No.2	7,776	3
	Five Mile Creek No.3	2,100	3
	Maverick Spring Draw	7,100	4
	Ocean Lake	41,931	1
	Teapot Gulch No. 1	2,000	3
	Teapot Gulch No. 2	5,022	4
Muddy Creek	Blue Draw	23,150	3
	Dry Muddy Creek	28,000	4
	East Fork Sheep Creek	3,900	4
	Muddy Creek No. 1	10,500	3
	Muddy Creek No. 2	34,000	3
	Muddy Creek No. 3	57,344	3
	Sagwup Draw No. 1	28,900	4
	Sagwup Draw No. 2	25,895	4
	Sheep Creek	16,200	3
	Shotgun Creek No.1	2,700	4
	Shotgun Creek No.2	7,600	4
	W. Fork Sheep Creek	29,128	3
Cottonwood Creek trib. Boysen Reservoir	Blue Holes	351,000	4
	Cottonwood Creek	1,500	4
	Cottonwood No. 1	21,178	4
	Cottonwood No. 2	21,178	4
Owl Creek	Dempsey	1,070	1
	Mountain View	5,830	1
	Mud Creek North Fork	4,300	3
	Mud Creek North Fork	4,300	3
	North Fork Owl Creek	8,700	3
	Owl Creek Basin	5,230	3
	Owl Creek Irrigation	23,270	2
	Owl Creek South Fork	46,500	2
	Owl Creek South Fork	46,500	2
	Owl Creek South Fork No. 1	22,680	3
	Owl Creek South Fork No. 2	20,090	3
	Owl Creek South Fork Trib.	3,200	1
	Pumpkin Draw	2,000	1
	Shotgun Creek	2,700	4
	South Fork Owl Creek	15,100	3
Gooseberry Creek	Buffalo Creek	145,000	2
	Farmers	14,510	1
	Gooseberry Creek	3,690	2
	Gooseberry Creek	3,690	2
	Gooseberry No. 1	1,770	2
	Gooseberry No. 2	8,500	2
	Little Buffalo Basin	75,810	2
Fifteen Mile Creek	Fifteen Mile Creek	46,080	2
Elk Creek	Elk Creek Valley	1,140	3
Greybull River	Alpha Sandstone	579	2
	Grey Bull River	84,200	4
	Junietta	1,280	3
	Lake McKinney No. 2	202	2
	Rawhide Creek	34,738	4
	Rawhide Creek	34,738	4
	Snyder Draw	2,240	2
	Spring Creek	64,700	4
	Thayer No. 1	639	3
Dry Creek	Bench Canal	299	2
	Lithomsen	1,960	3
	Oregon Basin	382,950	3
	Sage Creek	1,080	4
	Sage Creek	1,080	4
	Sage Creek Coulderwiley	2,060	3
	Thomsen	1,010	3
Clarks Fork River	Badger Basin	69,276	4
	Bald Ridge	14,600	3
	Clark	30,400	4
	Clarks Fork	750,000	4
	Clarks Fork	522,850	4
	Hunter Mountain	130,000	3
	Lagoon Lake	1,320	3
	Lake Creek	5,100	4
	Sunlight	50,000	4
	Thief Creek	200,000	3
Shoshone River and Tributaries	Beck Lake	1,000	4
	Bliss Creek Meadows	0	4
	Cody Canal	1,210	4
	Goff	663	3
	Holden	9,900	3
	Melvina Lake	937	4
	Melvina Lake	936	4
	Needle Mountain	100,000	4
	Oregon Basin (closed basin)	382,950	3
	Sage Creek	1,082	4
	Sage Creek (SCS Site No. 1)	1,580	4
	Skull Creek	641	4
	Sulphur Creek	18,480	4
	Wall Mountain	50,000	4

Section 3 - DEVELOPMENT OF THE SHORT LIST

As part of the process, the BAG members were asked to review the long list and identify potential opportunities not included on the proposed long-list as well as the relative merits of the individual projects. Comments and suggestions received from BAG members and additional research led to the development of the final long-list and ultimately the short list.

In the development of the Short List, each project was assigned to a category: Municipal, Agriculture, Environmental and Religious and projects were rated within that category. For example, municipal projects were rated against other municipal projects. Agricultural storage projects were rated against similar projects. Certain projects were eliminated from consideration for the short list. Reasons to eliminate projects included:

1) the project had already been constructed;
2) the location of the project facilities (i.e. within an environmentally sensitive or Wilderness Area), presented major legal, institutional, and permitting constraints;
3) the original demand for the project no longer exists and is not expected to appear within the planning period;
4) the project had no immediate or near term sponsor; or
5) the project feasibility was questionable or did not fall within the upper percentile of screening criteria.

Given the size, breadth and distribution of project needs within the Wind/BigHorn Planning area, an attempt was made to develop short list projects that might benefit different interests throughout the Basin. This included an attempted geographical distribution of projects throughout the Planning Area. The final grouping of short list projects is presented in the following table.

Short List of Future Projects:

Category	Name of Project	Description of Project	Location of Project
I. MUNICIPAL Type of Project:
New Source	Unknown	Construct Deep Aquifer Supply	Regionalization: Lander/Hudson/Riverton
	Paleozoic Well Field	Construct Deep Aquifer Supply	Regionalization: W.R. Reservation
	Paleozoic Well Field	Construct Deep Aquifer Supply	Regionalization: Hot Springs County
Type of Project:
Distribution/ Storage Opportunities	Bighorn Regional Joint Powers Board	Storage Tanks/Redundant Transmission	HotSprings/Washakie County
	Tensleep/Hyattville	Storage Tanks/ Transmission	Washakie County
Type of Project:
Conjunctive Use	Aquifer Storage and Retrieval	Alluvial Aquifer Augmentation	Upper Wind River/Riverton Area
Type of Project:
Water Management	Ground Water Control District	Administration of Future Development	Riverton Area
	Ground Water Control District	Administration of Future Development	Paintrock Anticline and Hyattville
Type of Project:
Water Conservation	Leak Detection	Municipal Survey and Repair of Leaks	Basin-wide
	Reuse of Grey Water Non Potable Water	Irrigation of Parks/Cemetaries	Basin-wide
II. AGRICULTURAL Type of Project:
New Source	None
Type of Project:
Storage Opportunities	Bull Lake Dam Enlargement	Reservoir Enlargement	Big Wind River
	Dinwoody Lake Enlargement	Reservoir Enlargement	Big Wind River
	Steamboat	New Reservoir	Big Wind River
	Ray Lake	Reservoir Enlargement	Little Wind River
	Little Popo Agie Off Channel Site 5	New Reservoir	Little Popo Agie
	Pumpkin Draw	New Reservoir	Owl Creek
	Neff Park (Popo Agie Study)	New Reservoir	Popo Agie
	Lake Creek	New Reservoir	Clarks Fork
	Moraine Creek No. 1	New Reservoir	Shell Creek
Type of Project:
Distribution	Popo Agie Master Plan	Ditch Headgate and Diversion Improvements	Popo Agie Basin
	Kirby Creek Watershed	Stock Reservoirs	Kirby Creek Basin
Type of Project:
New Lands	Riverton East	Construct New Diversions/Ditches	Wind River Basin
	Westside	Construct New Diversions/Ditches	Big Horn Basin
Type of Project:
Water Conservation	Midvale/LeClair Riverton Valley	Ditch Linings/ Conveyance Improvements	Wind River Basin
	Wind River Irrigation Project	Ditch Linings/ Conveyance Improvements	Wind River Basin
Type of Project:
Basin Transfer	Clarks Fork to Greybull Drainage	Storage and Pipeline	Clarks Fork to Big Horn Basin
III. ENVIRONMENTAL
	Instream Flows	Admin Minimum Flows	Wind and Big Horn Basin
	Minimum Reservoir Pools	Admin Reservoir Releases	Wind and Big Horn Basin
	Watershed/Habitat Improv.	Water Quality Impaired Streams	Big Horn Basin
IV. CULTURAL/RELIGIOUS	Water Use by Tribes	Coordinated Reservoir Releases	Wind and Big Horn Basin

Section 4 - SUMMARY

It must be emphasized the short-list tables reflect the knowledge and judgement of the individual that performed the exercise. When another individual having different opinions and a different level of knowledge of the projects being evaluated completes the exercise, different scores will result. Variable results will be achieved because different weights will be assigned to the evaluation criteria and different scores will be assigned to the projects.

One should recognize that the final Wind/BigHorn Basin short list is a reflection of the Planning Team’s professional opinion and an attempted quantitative evaluation. Individual BAG members and the BAG, as an entity, may disagree or find other rationale for including certain long list projects on the final short list.

Given the inherent weakness of this evaluation methodology, it is difficult, if not impossible to use the resultant short-list for anything other than to establish “a place to start”. This short list may help initiate the required investigations leading to the selection of a future water use opportunity or it may lead to a new and completely separate evaluation. The evaluated short-list is preliminary in nature and should not be used by the Wyoming Water Development Commission or any other funding entity to prioritize funding awards.

Appendix A
Long List of Potential Future Water Use Projects