Wyoming State Water Plan, Wyoming Water Development Office
Rafting on Snake River Lake Marie, Snowy Mountains Wyoming Wind River Range picture

Snake/Salt River Basin Water Plan
2003

As authorized by the Wyoming Water Development Commission in its contract scope of work, this planning document presents current and proposed future uses of water in Wyoming's Snake/Salt 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 intent of this summary report is to describe the planning study in sufficient detail for the reader to gain a general understanding of the investigations that were performed and the results of those investigations. For detailed information on a specific topic the reader is directed to the technical memorandum prepared for that topic. References used in preparing the technical memoranda are not repeated in this summary report. These references are presented in the individiual technical memoranda.



Snake River Mountains Image

PDF (3,532kb) or HTML 2003 Executive Summary for the Snake/Salt River Basin

PDF (15,201kb) or HTML 2003 Final Report for the Snake/Salt River Basin

PDF (996kb) or HTML The 2001 Wyoming Legislature authorized the Wyoming Water Development Commission (WWDC) to complete the Snake/Salt River Basin portion of the State Water Plan.

PDF (6439kb) or HTML Chapter II - Figures Included

HTML Chapter III - Figures Included

  • PDF (3335kb) Figures Not Included
  • PDF (87kb) Snake River Node Diagram - From Jackson (Figure III - 3)
  • PDF (83kb) Snake River Node Diagram - From Palisades (Figure III - 4)
  • PDF (863kb) General Geology and Well Density (Figure III - 5)
  • PDF (308kb) Shallow Aquifer Recharge Rates (Figure III - 6)
  • PDF (259kb) USGS Monitoring Sites (Figure III - 7)
  • PDF (582kb) Groundwater Permits for Domestic Use (Figure III - 8)
  • PDF (588kb) Well Permit Locations by Use (Figure III - 9)
  • PDF (404kb) Aquifer Sensitivity (Figure III - 10)

PDF (699kb) or HTML At present, nearly 26,000 people reside in just over 10,000 households within the Wyoming portions of the Snake and Salt River basins. Roughly 44 percent of the population of the basin lives within the boundaries of the City of Jackson or the Towns of Afton, Alpine and Thayne, the four principal population centers within the basin.

PDF (591kb) or HTML This section discusses the procedures used to create a list of potential future projects that would utilize the water resources in the Snake/Salt River basin. This list represents the needs and desires of those in the basin, and provides a starting point for additional beneficial uses of water in the future.






The memoranda may be viewed in either HTML or PDF. The PDF version requires Adobe Acrobat® Reader. If you do not already have this program on your computer, please visit Adobe's Website to download a free copy.

HTML PDF Technical Memoranda
84 kb 294 kb   Tab A - Summary of Wyoming Water Law
51 kb 185 kb   Tab B - Summary of Interstate Compacts and Decrees
19 kb 77 kb   Tab C - Palisades Reservoir Contract
44 kb 162 kb   Tab D - Agricultural Water Use
37 kb 83 kb   Tab E - Cropping Patterns
159 kb 316 kb   Tab F - Irrigation Diversion Operation and Description
161 kb 470 kb   Tab G - Irrigated Lands and Permit GIS Data
84 kb 251 kb   Tab H - Municipal Uses
429 kb 735 kb   Tab I - Domestic Uses
14 kb 138 kb   Tab J - Industrial Uses
189 kb 150 kb   Tab K - Recreation Uses
37 kb 125 kb   Tab L - Environmental Uses
206 kb 1512 kb   Tab M - Major Reservoirs
227 kb 894 kb   Tab N - Instream Flows
24 kb 66 kb   Tab O - Water Quality
None
 890 kb               - Water Quality - Appendix A
None
 1908 kb               - Water Quality - Appendix B
291 kb 197 kb   Tab P - Surface Water Data Collection and Study Period Selection
247 kb 290 kb   Tab Q - Spreadsheet Model Development
206 kb 356 kb   Tab R - Available Surface Water Determination
180 kb 1223 kb   Tab S - Available Groundwater Determination
None Listing               - Groundwater Figures
321 kb 199 kb   Tab T - Historic  and Current Economic and Demographic Conditions
494 kb 314 kb   Tab U - Future Economic and Demographic Scenarios
443 kb 236 kb   Tab V - Future Water Demand Projections
363 kb 1049 kb   Tab W - Future Water Use Opportunities
47 kb 179 kb   Tab X - Water Conservation
50 kb 130 kb   Tab Y - Institutional Constraints
14 kb 74 kb   Tab Z - Salmon Recovery Efforts in the Snake River Basin






There are eight spreadsheet workbooks, one for each of three hydrologic conditions(wet, normal, dry) and one master for each of the two distinct areas:

  • Snake River from Moran to Alpine
  • Salt River from Source to the Confluence with Stewart Creek

For further information including both a user's guide and engineering documentation of the models please refer to the Spreadsheet Model Development and Calibration.

Steps for Downloading the Models

The three workbooks (wet, dry and normal years) for each area are yoked together with a simple menu-driven graphical user interface (GUI), effectively creating four area models. In addition, the spreadsheet models are stored as zipped Microsoft Excel files using WinZip compression software. An evaluation version of WinZip may be downloaded at http://www.winzip.com/download.htm

  • Download the models by clicking on the file name and saving to your local directory. Depending on the browser this may entail only responding to a prompt, or choosing "Save As..." from the browser file menu.
  • Once on the local disk, double click the zipped file to extract the Excel Workbooks. A total of 4 files will be extracted for each zipped file.
  • In Microsoft Excel, open the area Model file. From this graphical user interface the wet, normal, or dry year models may be selected.
  • For further information on the use of the models please refer to the tutorial included in each of the workborks.

Spreadsheet Models
Snake River Model 990 kb compressed
5,955 kb uncompressed
Salt River Model 778 kb compressed
4,907 kb uncompressed

* Please note that these files are in read only format. Any changes to the models made by the user may change the results and must be saved with a new file name.

** For Windows XP users - Due to additional security levels, XP users may have to manually change their security levels. If you receive a message when opening Microsoft Excel that reads as follows: "Macros in this workbook are disabled because the security level is high..." click OK and perform the following routine: Under the Tools menu, click on Macro then Security. Change the Security Level to Medium, this will enable the user to go to the Spreadsheet Model Main Menu.






Access GIS data for the Snake/Salt Wyoming River Basin