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
2012

Below are PDF links to the 2012 Update. 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.



Entire Snake River Basin map

PDF (15,646kb) 2012 Snake/Salt River Basin Plan Update Final Report

PDF (390kb) 2012 Snake/Salt River Basin Update Table of Contents

PDF (176kb) 2012 Snake/Salt River Basin Update List of Figures

PDF (393kb) This update will not totally replace the 2003 plan or the supporting technical memoranda, but will provide updated information and make recommendations for the collection of additional information and data to appropriately keep the plan current.

PDF (259kb) This Snake/Salt River Basin Plan Update is available to view and download at http://waterplan.state.wy.us/plan/snake/snake-plan.html. In addition to the final report, technical memoranda, hydrologic models and related GIS data are available for download.

PDF (2,270kb) The Snake/Salt River Planning Basin in Wyoming is a part of the Snake River basin and the Columbia River drainage which flows to the Pacific Ocean.

PDF (1,778kb) This chapter presents a discussion of the quantity and quality of surface water and groundwater in the Snake/Salt River Basin.

PDF (5,676kb) This chapter presents an inventory of water use in the Snake/Salt River Basin. The purpose of this chapter is to provide the necessary understanding of the location, source and quantity of current water use. This existing water use profile is the basis for subsequent water use evaluations in the report.

PDF (1,013kb) This chapter presents a discussion of future water use in the Snake/Salt River Basin. Population changes and economic conditions are discussed as well as future water demands for the consumptive and non-consumptive water uses. Consumptive water uses include agricultural (irrigation and livestock water use), municipal and domestic, industrial, and reservoir evaporation. Non-consumptive uses are environmental and recreational water uses.

PDF (4,390kb) This chapter presents a discussion of the spreadsheet models and results of the modeling efforts for the Snake/Salt River Basin. Surface water and groundwater availability are estimated for three growth scenarios, high, mid and low-growth. Additionally, water conservation is discussed and a summary of water available for future development is presented.

PDF (825kb) A list of water use opportunities was developed for the 2003 Plan. A long list of opportunities was developed first through discussions with the Snake/Salt River BAG. This long list was then evaluated using criteria established by the planning team and the BAG and a short list was created consisting of opportunities that scored well for the Snake and Salt Sub-basins.

PDF (100kb) This chapter provides program strategies and recommendations for future planning in the Snake/Salt River Basin. Program strategies guide the WDO in planning efforts for the Basin.

PDF (310kb) Appendix A presents the updated Framework Tables. Data developed as part of this Plan Update is indicated with a 2014 date.

PDF (21kb) The Wyoming Surface Water Classifications presented in this Appendix were taken directly from The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, Water Quality Rules and Regulations, Chapter 1, Wyoming Surface Water Quality Standards, 2007, Appendix A, Wyoming Surface Water Classifications.






This document is intended as an introduction to the volume of technical memoranda produced as part of the 2012 Snake/Salt River Basin Plan Update (2012 Update). A summarized listing of all available technical memoranda is provided in the table below, including those related to the original 2003 Snake/Salt River Basin Plan. The original Snake/Salt River Basin Plan (previous Basin Plan) was completed in 2003.

The 2012 Update was conducted by a team of professionals with the Wyoming Water Development Office, the Wyoming State Engineer's Office, and the University of Wyoming, Water Resources Data System (WRDS). The update is not intended to totally replace the previous Basin Plan or the supporting Technical Memoranda, but will provide updated information and make recommendations for collection of additional information and data to appropriately keep the plan current.

The PDFs require Adobe Acrobat® Reader. If you do not already have this program on your computer, please visit Adobe's Website to download a free copy.

PDF Technical Memoranda
213 kb   Table of Contents
644 kb   Tab I - Agricultural Water Use
1,244 kb   Tab II - Municipal and Domestic Water Use
630 kb   Tab III - Industrial Water Use
12,231 kb   Tab IV - Environmental and Recreational Water Use
2,423 kb   Tab V - Irrigation Diversion Operation and Description
1,030 kb   Tab VI - Irrigated Acreage
2,821 kb   Tab VII - Crop Water Requirements
1,599 kb   Tab VIII - Surface Water Data Collection and Estimation
1,453 kb   Tab IX - Spreadsheet Models and Hydrologic Database
4,092 kb   Tab X - Available Surface Water Determination
7,127 kb   Tab XI - Available Groundwater Determination
1,520 kb   Tab XII - Major Reservoirs and Reservoir Evaporation
866 kb   Tab XIII - Instream Flows
1,634 kb   Tab XIV - Surface Water Quality
783 kb   Tab XV - Water Conservation
1,891 kb   Tab XVI - Climate
667 kb   Tab XVII - Population Projections and Economic Conditions
791 kb   Tab XVIII - Institutional Constraints
631 kb   Tab XIX - Palisades Reservoir Contract
626 kb   Tab XX - Salmon Recovery Efforts in the Snake River Basin





Six spreadsheet workbooks and one master database were constructed for the 2012 Snake/Salt River Basin Plan to determine water availability based on dry, average and wet conditions within the basin.

For the 2012 Snake/Salt River Basin Plan Update the structure of the hydrologic spreadsheet models has not been altered from the previous plan. The only changes to the model were updates to the USGS gage and diversion data. The gage data were updated as described in the Surface Water Data Collection and Study Period Selection technical memorandum. The gage and diversion data were updated through 2010 and added to the model constituting a new study period of 1971 through 2010.

Please visit the related Technical Memordum page for instructions on using the model.

 Click Here To Download the 2010 Model


Dry, Average, and Wet Years for USGS Indicator Gage Stations in Snake/Salt River Basin