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Green River Basin Water Plan
Final Report
I      Introduction
As with all chapters in this final plan report, explicit lists of
references are not provided. Instead, all references to report,
documents, maps, and personal communications are maintained in
the Technical Memoranda that were prepared during the current
planning process. Should the reader desire to review a complete
list of references for the information presented in this chapter,
the following memoranda should be consulted:
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- A. Introduction
The Green River Basin Water Planning Process document is one of two
basin water plans compiled under initial efforts of the Wyoming
Water Development Commission. Authorized by the Wyoming Legislature
in 1999, the planning process' first task is the preparation of plans
for the Green and Bear River Basins in Wyoming. Subsequent years will
see plans developed for the northeast part of the State (Tongue,
Powder, Belle Fourche, Cheyenne, and Niobrara Rivers), Big Horn/Wind,
Snake/Salt, and Platte River Basins. It is the express desire of the
program to revisit and update the basin planning documents every five
years or so.
As authorized by the Wyoming Water Development Commission in its contract
scope of work, this planning document presents current and proposed
(estimated) future uses of water in Wyoming's Green River Basin. Uses
to be inventoried include agricultural, municipal, industrial, environmental,
and recreation. Both surface and ground water uses, as well as overall
water quality are described. Given current uses, the availability of
surface and ground water to meet future requirements is estimated. To
lay the groundwork for future water development, a review of the current
institutional and legal framework facing such projects is presented.
Finally, thoughts are given to guide implementation of the water planning
process.
The structure of this final report is to present findings in enough detail
to explain the overall plan without deluging the reader in technical minutiae.
Technical memoranda have been prepared which delve into the many individual
topics in detail, and it is to these documents the reader should turn for
answers to questions about details, methods, and for selected references.
No separate list of citations is provided herein other than for the Technical
Memoranda (which, individually, contain complete bibliographies).
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- B. Description
Location
The Green River Basin consists of lands in Wyoming, Colorado, and Utah that
drain to the Green River, the largest tributary of the Colorado River. The
Wyoming portion of the Basin comprises nearly 25,000 square miles. It is
bordered on the east by the continental divide including the Wind River
Range in the north and northeast, the Great Divide Basin centrally, and the
Sierra Madre Range in the southeast. It is bordered on the south by the
Wyoming-Colorado and Wyoming-Utah state lines. The Basin's western border
is defined by the Tunp Range, which forms the division between the Green
and Bear River Basins, and the Wyoming Range, which separates the Green
from the Greys River Basin. The far northwest of the Basin abuts the Gros
Ventre Range. While the Green River Basin includes the Great Divide Basin
for purposes of this plan, this region is a closed basin, and does not
contribute any run-off to the Green River. Figure I-1 shows the study area,
sometimes referred to as the Greater Green River Basin.
Figure I-1 Greater Green River Basin: Study Area
click to enlarge
Counties that contribute large areas to the Basin are Sweetwater, Sublette,
Carbon, Lincoln, and Uinta, with small areas in Fremont and Teton counties.
This area is just larger than the State of West Virginia.
Topography
The Basin generally slopes to the south, with major portions of the area
having elevations in the range of 6,000 to 7,000 feet above sea level.
This area is characterized by the buttes, mesas, and badlands associated
with high, arid desert plains. Mountainous peaks that form the majority
of the Basin border frequently exceed 10,000 feet in elevation in the
northern and northeastern reaches of the Basin, and 9,000 feet in the
southern reaches in Wasatch National Forest. The highest point in the
Basin (Gannett Peak, elevation 13,804) is also the highest point in the
State, and the lowest point (elevation 6,040) occurs along the Green River
where it passes into Utah at Flaming Gorge Reservoir.
Climate
Climate throughout the Basin varies, but generally follows the pattern of
a high desert region. Higher precipitation and lower temperatures generally
accompany higher altitudes. Precipitation data are available for about a
dozen National Weather Service stations in the Basin for the past 30 years.
The lowest average annual precipitation among these stations occurs at
Fontenelle Dam in Lincoln County (7 inches), and the highest average annual
precipitation occurs at Pinedale (11.4 inches). Precipitation in the range
of 40 to 60 inches annually, most occurring as snow, falls in the highest
mountains. While long, mild intensity rainfall events do occur in the Basin,
the majority of the rainfall occurs in short, intense storms. Various
climatological and physiographic factors combine to create a relatively
short growing season throughout the Basin.
Figure I-2 shows precipitation characteristics in the Basin.
Figure I-2 Average Annual Precipitation
click to enlarge
Water Features
Most notable of the water features in the Green River Basin is the Flaming
Gorge Reservoir along the Green River as it passes into Utah, and which is
formed by the Flaming Gorge dam in the State of Utah. Other major bodies
of water in the central and eastern part of the Basin include the Green
River Lakes, New Fork Lake, Willow Lake, Fremont Lake, Halfmoon Lake,
Burnt Lake, Boulder Lake, Big Sandy Reservoir, Eden Valley Reservoir, and
Fontenelle Reservoir, in addition to numerous high mountain lakes in the
Wind River Range. In the western part of the Basin are Viva Naughton and
Kemmerer No. 1 Reservoirs. To the south, Meeks Cabin and Stateline
Reservoirs serve various Wyoming users, although Stateline is located
entirely in Utah.
Waterways leading to the Green River include numerous rivers and streams,
many with multiple branches. Major tributaries include the New Fork, East
Fork, and Big and Little Sandy Rivers in the northeast; the Little Snake
River in the southeast; the Hams Fork, Blacks Fork and Henrys Fork of the
Green in the southwest; and the Piney, LaBarge, Fontenelle, Cottonwood and
Horse Creeks (among others) in the north and west. Many of the streams
and creeks in the central and southern parts of the Basin are intermittent
or ephemeral, flowing only in response to rainfall or snowmelt.
History
Although evidence of human occupation of the Green River Basin exists from
9000 BC, its modern history did not take shape until the 1800's. The first
white man reported to have entered the Basin, John Colter, was a member of
the Lewis and Clark expedition, although the Basin was not a part of their
explorations. After returning to St. Louis with Lewis and Clark, Colter
assembled an exploration party of his own and returned to the area in 1807.
In 1824, General William H. Ashley explored the area around the Sweetwater
River. He gave the Green River its name; until then it was known as the
Spanish River. Ashley trapped for fur throughout the Basin. In 1825,
Ashley began the first of several annual trapping rendezvous on Henrys
Fork. In time, this rendezvous became not only an assembly of trappers,
but others (especially Native Americans) who were interested in trading.
In 1826, Ashley retired, and his interests were eventually bought by the
Rocky Mountain Fur Company. In the 1830's, the rendezvous was moved north
to a site not far from present-day Daniel.
In May of 1832, Captain B.L.E. Bonneville led a large exploration party to
the Basin. He established "Fort Nonsense" (as it was called) near the mouth
of Horse Creek, not far from present-day Pinedale. Unlike other pioneers of
the area, Bonneville was not really interested in furs. His fort was chiefly
for the purpose of spying on British and Indian activities in the mountains.
Antagonistic Indian attacks forced the almost immediate abandonment of "Fort
Nonsense."
Jim Bridger, perhaps the most well-known figure in Green River Basin history,
was a member of General Ashley's expedition. After Ashley's retirement,
Bridger continued to trap for furs in the Basin. With the fall of the fur
business and the rise in emigrant travel through Wyoming, Bridger, as with
many others, refocused his business on trading with the emigrants. In 1842,
he built Fort Bridger with his partner, Louis Vasquez. Fort Bridger was
strategically located to serve multiple trails. There, they made a rather
profitable business. In 1848, the fort officially became a part of the
United States as the region was ceded from Mexico. During this same year,
gold was discovered in California. Gold had been found in the South Pass
area six years earlier, but the strikes had not been as fruitful as in
California. During the early 1850's, emigration through the Basin
flourished, leading to increased trading business. In November of 1853,
a crew of Mormons established Fort Supply, a dozen miles from Fort Bridger.
In 1857, both forts were destroyed as the Mormons fled government troops.
Fort Bridger was eventually rebuilt and became a military fort. During the
construction of the Union Pacific Railroad, it housed troops protecting
railroad surveyors and construction crews.
While the Fort Bridger area developed for trading, the South Pass area
came into being due to gold prospecting. Gold had been discovered in the
area in 1842, and serious prospecting continued for nearly 20 years. News
of the finds trickled to emigrant centers such as Fort Bridger and Salt
Lake City, and numerous explorers made their way to the area. This influx
of people, while considerable, was never as great as that traveling on to
California and Oregon. The region was still seen as an unforgiving and
hostile area. Over the years, prospecting began to take a backseat to
other business ventures. Many prospectors found hay production for
emigrants and production of telegraph poles to be more lucrative than gold.
Interest in gold was renewed in 1867 with the discovery of the Carissa Lode.
Inflated tales of gold finds spread and the area experienced a boom in
population. With the discovery that these tales were misleading, many
prospectors left the area within a few years. Those who stayed realized
the potential for grazing and ranching throughout the northern portion of
the Basin.
Communication and transportation have played major roles in the development
of the southern portion of the Basin during the majority of its history.
This was especially true during the 1860's. Many of the towns existing
today had their roots as stage or telegraph stations. In the late 1860's,
the presence of coal in the Green River/Rock Springs area was the chief
factor for Union Pacific Railroad's decision to build through southern
Wyoming. This created not only the demand for coal, but also the means
for conveying it to other regions. A common practice of the day was for
a developer to speculate upon where railroads would set-up centers of
business and create towns in anticipation of future prosperity. Green
River was established in such a manner in the summer of 1868. By the end
of 1868, the railroad had reached as far west as Evanston. Coal had also
been discovered on Hams Fork in 1868, spurring the establishment of
Diamondville in 1894 and Kemmerer in 1897.
Mineral interests continued to spur the creation of new towns throughout
the late 19th and into the early 20th centuries. Around 1910, the State
experienced an oil boom that resulted in the establishment of the town
of LaBarge in the 1920's. In 1939, trona was discovered in Sweetwater
County, and, by 1952, the first mining plant had been built.
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- C. Water-Related History of the Basin
Arguably, the most valuable resource in the Basin is water. As with
much of the State, having good quality water at the right times has
always been a challenge. Ancient Indian civilizations were known to
have constructed small canals and ditches from streams to provide crop
water. With the increase in nomadic tribes, these canals and ditches
were not used as extensively. The first modern use of irrigation in
the Basin is credited to the Mormon settlers of Fort Supply around 1854.
Emigrants and other travelers were quite impressed with the results the
Mormons achieved. In 1857, when the Mormons returned to Salt Lake, the
irrigation projects were temporarily abandoned. Although the first water
right filings from the Blacks Fork were not completed until 1862,
irrigation diversions were known to have been in place at Fort Bridger
by 1859. The first water rights filings in the upper portion of the
Basin occurred around 1879 on Fontenelle Creek. Gradually, irrigation
of bottomlands throughout the Basin became more and more commonplace.
Beginning in the 1920's, reservoir storage rights were established on
lakes such as Willow Lake, Boulder Lake, and Fremont Lake.
One of the most documented and oldest reclamation projects in the Basin
is the Big Sandy project. In July of 1886, an official charter was
granted to the Big Sandy Colony and Canal Company to build a dam on the
Sandy River. This dam was later washed away by floods and the project
abandoned. In 1906, the Eden-Farson Irrigation project was authorized.
By 1914, the main canal had been finished. Over the course of the next
20 years, financial instability and mismanagement plagued the project,
and it eventually came under the dominion of the Bureau of Reclamation.
Further improvements were authorized, but construction did not begin
until 1950 due to World War II. 1950 also marked the birth of the Eden
Valley Irrigation and Drainage District. During the 1950's, improvements
and expansions were completed for many aspects of the original canal
project. Other reclamation projects that currently exist in the Basin
include the Flaming Gorge Dam, completed in 1962, Fontenelle Dam,
completed in 1964, the Meeks Cabin Dam, completed in 1971, and the
Stateline Dam, completed in 1979.
Although the main use of surface water within the Basin is agricultural,
the various streams in the area also provide water for domestic use.
Many cities (such as Rock Springs and Green River, and the towns within
the Bridger Valley) have a shared point of diversion and distribution
system. In many cases, the water supply facilities were built and are
currently maintained by private corporations.
Colorado River Basin
The Green River is the largest tributary within the Colorado River
Basin (Figure I-3). In addition to land in Wyoming, the Colorado River
Basin drains large portions of Utah, Colorado, all of Arizona, and
small portions of New Mexico, California, Nevada, and Mexico, for a
total of 244,000 square miles. In accordance with the Colorado River
Compact, the large basin is divided into two main divisions: the Upper
Basin, consisting of the land draining to the Colorado River upstream
of Lee Ferry, Arizona; and the Lower Basin, consisting of the land
draining to the river south of Lee Ferry. The Basin is further
subdivided into the Green Division, the Grand Division, the San Juan
Division, the Little Colorado Division, the Virgin Division, the Gila
Division, and the Boulder Division.
Figure I-3 Colorado River Basin
click to enlarge
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- D. Wyoming Water Law
One of the primary tenets established during conception of the current
water planning process was that Wyoming Water Law would be respected
throughout that process. That is, while many aspects of the use,
availability, value and future demands of Wyoming's water would be
under review, the principles of administration of that water by the
State Engineer's Office would not.
As Engineer for the Territory of Wyoming, and later the first State
Engineer, Elwood Mead understood that in a water short region, water
must be administered in a fair and equitable fashion, and his method
for doing so was to let the earlier developer have the better right
to the water (the priority system). He also knew that the amount of
any right must be affirmed by an agent of the State, lest the applicant
greatly exaggerate the amount needed, and be based on the amount put
to "beneficial use." Another stamp of Mead's early efforts in Wyoming
is the resolution of water disputes via a "Board of Control," rather
than the water court system used in the neighboring state of Colorado.
In Wyoming, water rights are property rights in that they are attached
to the land and can be transferred in use or in location only after
application to and careful consideration, and possible modification,
by the State Engineer if the water right is unadjudicated, otherwise
by the Board of Control. The Board of Control is made up of the four
water division superintendents and the State Engineer.
Water Law in the Constitution and Statutes
Water ownership and administration is defined in Article 8 of the
Wyoming Constitution:
- Section 1 declares water within the State to be the property of the State;
- Section 2 establishes the Board of Control and its composition;
- Section 3 establishes the priority system as giving the better right;
- Section 4 establishes four (4) water divisions within the State;
- Section 5 establishes the position and duties of State Engineer.
Water law is defined and codified in the Wyoming State Statutes. The
State Engineer's role is defined under Title 9, Chapter 1, Article 9, (W.S.
9-1-901 through 909), along with the authority to establish fees for
services. Weather modification activities are placed under the authority
of the State Engineer in this Article, and moisture in the clouds and
atmosphere within the state boundaries is declared property of the State.
Title 41 is entitled "Water" and contains the bulk of Wyoming's
laws related to water. Under this Title the following chapters are
included:
- Chapter 1 - General Provisions
- Chapter 2 - Planning and Development
- Chapter 3 - Water Rights; Administration and Control
- Chapter 4 - Board of Control; Adjudication of Water Rights
- Chapter 5 - Care, Maintenance and Protection of Irrigation Works
- Chapter 6 - Irrigation and Drainage Districts (Generally)
- Chapter 7 - Irrigation Districts
- Chapter 8 - Watershed Improvement Districts
- Chapter 9 - Drainage Districts
- Chapter 10 - Water and Sewer District Law
- Chapter 11 - Interstate Streams Commission
- Chapter 12 - Interstate Compacts
- Chapter 13 - Watercraft
- Chapter 14 - Storage of Water for Industrial and Municipal Uses
Within Title 41, Chapters 3 and 4 contain the important laws relating to
establishment, administration and adjudication of water rights in Wyoming.
These relate to appropriation from all sources of water, whether they be
live streams, still waters and reservoirs, or underground water (ground
water).
The reader is referred to the Constitution and to these statutes for the
complete language defining Wyoming Water Law. The monogram: Wyoming
Water Law: A Summary, by James J. Jacobs, Gordon W. Fassett and Donald
J. Brosz is included in the technical memorandum Wyoming Water Law
Summary, as is a glossary of water-related terms.
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- E. Interstate Compacts
The Green River of Wyoming is the major tributary to the Colorado River,
one of the most physically controlled and institutionally managed rivers
in the world. It drains the largest river basin in the United States
save the Mississippi. Prone to flooding and needed for irrigation, the
river came under the control of several major dams in the 20th century.
Management of these structures, of the water in the River, and the
distribution of the water for various needs has resulted in a
regulatory and legal framework now known as the "Law of the River."
Documents comprising the Law include:
- Colorado River Compact - 1922
- Boulder Canyon Project Act - 1928
- California Limitation Act - 1929
- California Seven Party Agreement - 1931
- Mexican Water Treaty - 1944
- Upper Colorado River Basin Compact - 1948
- Colorado River Storage Project Act - 1956
- United States Supreme Court Decree in Arizona vs. California - 1964
- Colorado River Basin Project Act - 1968
- Minute 242 of the International Boundary and Water Commission,
United States and Mexico - 1973
- Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act - 1974, amended 1984,
1995, and 1996
Wyoming's ability to develop and consumptively use water in the Green
River Basin primarily is constrained by the two interstate Compacts,
the Colorado River Compact and the Upper Colorado River Basin Compact.
Complete copies are contained in the technical memorandum entitled
Summary of Interstate Compacts.
The Colorado River Compact
The states of the Colorado River System include Arizona, California,
Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. By the 1920s,
development of the Colorado River for irrigation had progressed more
rapidly in the lower basin reaches than in the upper and the need for
flood control and municipal water throughout the Basin was becoming
more and more evident. Headwater states were growing nervous over
development in the lower states and the concomitant threat that their
own future uses could be curtailed. Because the many states each laid
claim to Colorado River water within their boundaries, while the federal
government asserted authority over this interstate (and, in fact,
international) watercourse, some overarching agreement on the operation
of the river was inevitable.
With the creation of the Colorado River Commission in January of 1922,
and appointment of commissioners from the basin states and the federal
government, work on the Compact began. Public hearings were held in
all the affected states, and the resulting Compact was signed by each
commissioner and a representative of the United States on November 24,
1922 in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Because the signatory states and the
federal government each were required to ratify the Compact, the work
was yet to be completed. The next year, six of the seven states
(all but Arizona) ratified the Compact. Without unanimity, however,
the Compact would not be binding. Legislation was passed in 1928
allowing the Compact to come into effect if six of the seven states
(one of which had to be California) ratified it, and it did so.
Arizona finally ratified the Compact in 1944.
The Colorado River Compact divided the Colorado River into two parts,
an upper and a lower basin. The dividing point between the two is
one mile below the mouth of the Paria River, at Lee Ferry, Arizona
and is a natural point of demarcation. This point today is eight
miles below Glen Canyon Dam. The States of the Upper Division
were defined as Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming and the
States of the Lower Division included Arizona, California and
Nevada. Under the hydrologic assumptions of the day, and based on
the relatively short period of hydrologic record, the long-term
yield of the total watershed was erroneously deemed to be in the
range of 16 to 17 million acre-feet annually. To split the bounty,
the Compact apportioned to each the upper and lower basins a total of
7,500,00 acre-feet of beneficial consumptive use annually.
Additionally, the Compact granted the lower basin the right to
increase its beneficial use by 1,000,000 acre-feet annually. Further,
the Compact requires that the States of the Upper Division cannot
cause the flow at Lee Ferry to be depleted below an aggregate
75,000,000 acre-feet during any consecutive 10-year period. The
Compact also made allowances for future treaties with Mexico.
Essentially, deficiencies in meeting any forthcoming treaty
obligations with Mexico were to be borne equally by the upper and
lower basins.
Unfortunately, the yield of the upper basin has not proved to be
as robust as the Compact represents. Different estimates have put
the yield available for consumption in the upper basin from as low
as 5,800,000 acre-feet per year up to at least 6,300,000 acre-feet
per year, the latter of which is the current position of the upper
basin states.
The Upper Colorado River Basin Compact
While the lower basin states were initially unable to agree on how
to use their Compact allocation, the States of the Upper Basin were
able to establish a division of the water so that development could
begin. The Upper Colorado River Basin Compact, signed in October of
1948, followed the format of and was subject to the provisions of the
original Colorado River Compact. This Compact among the upper basin
states apportioned 50,000 acre-feet of consumptive use to Arizona
(which contains a small amount of area tributary to the Colorado above
the Compact point at Lee Ferry) and to the remaining states the
following percentages of the total quantity available for use each year
in the upper basin as provided by the 1922 Compact (after deduction of
Arizona's share):
Colorado | = | 51.75 percent; |
Utah | = |
23.00 percent; |
New Mexico | = | 11.25 percent; |
Wyoming | = | 14.00 percent. |
Taking into account the vagaries in knowledge of the actual yield of
the upper basin, the likelihood that upper basin deliveries will be
needed to help meet treaty obligations with Mexico, and a full 50,000
acre-foot development by Arizona, Wyoming's developable water under
the two Compacts can be estimated at between 728,000 and 938,000
acre-feet per year. Using the most probable assumptions, the
probable long-term available water supply for Wyoming from the Green
River and its tributaries is 833,000 acre-feet per year. This number
was recommended by the Wyoming State Engineer's Office, and memoranda
describing its derivation are included in the Summary of Interstate
Compacts Technical Memorandum.
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