2016 Annual Report L E A R N I N G B Y D O I N G. LBD 2016 Accomplishments

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1 L E A R N I N G B Y D O I N G 2016 Annual Report The Learning By Doing Cooperative Effort (LBD) is a unique partnership of East and West Slope water stakeholders in Colorado. LBD emerged from both Denver Water s Colorado River Cooperative Agreement and the Windy Gap Firming Project Intergovernmental Agreement with certain West Slope agencies, each of which established a long-term partnership with overarching goal of maintaining, and where reasonably possible, restoring or enhancing the conditions of the aquatic environment in the Colorado, Fraser and Williams Fork river basins in Grand County. LBD 2016 Accomplishments Resources, including money, water and water management flexibility, are committed to the effort, and the LBD Management Committee is charged with its implementation. While active participation in LBD is not required to begin until after the issuance and acceptance of the Records of Decision (ROD) and all necessary permits for the Moffat Project (Denver Water) and Windy Gap Firming Project (Municipal Subdistrict), the Management Committee began meeting in late 2013 and has been working together to further its goals. Members of the Management Committee Representatives from: Colorado Parks and Wildlife Colorado River Water Conservation District Denver Water Grand County Middle Park Water Conservancy District Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District Trout Unlimited The Management Committee is supported by a Technical Committee comprised of scientific and water experts from a wide range of federal, state and local entities who advise on LBD plans and projects. This report summarizes LBD activities in Secured funding for and began implementing LBD s first on-the-ground project, the Fraser Flats River Habitat Project, which will improve habitat in nearly 1 mile of the river and open a section to public fishing. Established LBD s first public-private partnership to fund the Fraser Flats project an approach that maximizes LBD s habitat improvement capabilities Improved summertime flows in Ranch Creek through a voluntary release of 119 AF of water by Denver Water Implemented weekly operations coordination calls from May to September, exploring how to manage water diversions so as to minimize stream impacts Made progress on developing a comprehensive monitoring plan to evaluate the health of Grand County s streams and detect both positive and negative impacts Made progress on developing an operations plan designed to use flexibility in water diversions to minimize impacts and, where possible, improve stream conditions Moved forward with identifying and prioritizing stream management goals Continued CDOT partnership on sediment pond to remove highway sand from the Fraser River Conducted significant media and public outreach to increase public awareness of issues facing Grand County s streams and LBD s efforts to address them. 1

2 Management The Management Committee held eight in-person meetings in The committee s primary focus in 2016 was: 1) LBD s first on-the-ground project to improve aquatic habitat; 2) designing plans for operations and monitoring; 3) the development of a formal governance structure to perform functions critical to LBD s operations; and 4) outreach strategies to educate the public and water stakeholders about the state of Grand County s streams, and LBD s activities and their benefits. Technical Committee meetings occurred six times in Representatives from Grand County Water & Sanitation District, Northwest Colorado Council of Governments, the Town of Hot Sulphur Springs, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Forest Service joined LBD representatives to lend expertise to LBD s efforts. Subcommittees addressed specific activities, including monitoring, operations, fundraising and LBD s Fraser Flats project. This year marked the first year that LBD had a project coordinator to assist in moving LBD efforts forward. The project coordinator arranged and facilitated meetings, prepared detailed notes with action items, and ensured follow through with assignments and agreed upon steps. The project coordinator s contract is funded through a four-year grant that commenced on December 1, Management Goals and Priorities In 2016, the Management and Technical committees focused their efforts on: Initiating an on-the-ground pilot project: The Fraser Flats River Habitat Project consists of restoring a 0.91-mile reach of the Fraser River to create habitat and improve conditions for aquatic life. In 2016, LBD released an RFP, selected and contracted with a qualified design/build firm, approved a graduate student s volunteer-led re-vegetation plan, and secured funding for the project. River rechanneling will be completed in 2017, with an opening celebration of the public fishing section planned for Spring Grand County Water & Sanitation District has donated a 20-year lease to provide public access to a portion of the reach, enabling use of the project to educate the public about LBD, water use, and the value of a healthy river. Involvement of funding partners: LBD generated approximately $144,400 in private, state and grant funding to leverage LBD funds for the Fraser Flats project. In addition to LBD partner contributions from Denver Water ($50,000), Northern Water ($10,000) and property land owner ($50,000), grants have been secured from Colorado Parks & Wildlife s Fishing Is Fun program ($87,900), Patagonia s EnviroGrants program ($3,500), and the Margie and John Haley Environmental Project Fund ($3,000). Other revenues dedicated to LBD include proceeds from a Devil s Thumb Ranch lodging surcharge, which totaled $14, in Enhanced public awareness: To bring attention to the Fraser Flats project, LBD drafted a guest column. Two local newspapers, Sky-Hi News and the Grand Gazette, ran the column. Additionally, a local TV station ran a video of the project, produced by Denver 2

3 Water. News and opinion on the overall LBD collaborative effort appeared in media outlets around the state, including Colorado Public Radio, Aspen Journal, Mountain Town New and High Country News. A guest editorial also ran in the Denver Post. LBD members made presentations on the LBD collaborative effort s activities at the River District s State of the River event in May and the Sustaining Watersheds Conference in October. An alchemy of water in the Colorado River headwaters By Allen Best Identifying and prioritizing stream management goals and priorities: The Technical Committee continued sharing and updating information for each reach listed in the Grand County Stream Management Plan in preparation of designating a 2018 LBD onthe-ground project to improve aquatic habitat. Grand County obtained a list of permitted stream projects from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to assist in future LBD project planning. Progress on an LBD Monitoring Plan: Through the efforts of the LBD Monitoring Subcommittee, and with direction and oversight by the Management Committee, development continues on a monitoring plan capable of identifying undesirable changes, prioritizing action steps and evaluating the effectiveness of LBD s response. Fraser Sediment Pond: A joint project of the Colorado Department of Transportation, Grand County and Denver Water to remove traction sand used along Highway 40 from the Fraser River continued in its fourth year. In 2016, the pond captured and removed 370 tons of sediment to improve the river s water quality and trout habitat. Monitoring downstream of the sediment pond shows significant habitat improvement and the potential for successful trout spawning. Refinement of an LBD Operations Plan: The LBD Operations Subcommittee continues to prepare guidelines and annual operations plans to maximize use of available water resources and water management in an effort to improve aquatic habitat. Investigating functional governance structures: The Management Committee explored formal governance structures that could be an appropriate fit for LBD, including fiscal sponsorship, a 501(c)(3) and a nonprofit corporation. It continues to look into various options. In late 2016, the Management Committee voted in co-chairs and a treasurer for one-year terms to serve as LBD officers beginning January 1, While much work remains to be done, significant progress was made in each of these areas. Coordinated Operations To fulfill LBD s obligations under its inter-governmental agreements (IGAs), LBD continued development of annual operations plan guidelines, primarily through the efforts of its Operations Subcommittee. The draft plan explored guidelines for coordinating operations of 3

4 diversion structures and environmental releases to address specified streams where negative impacts are detected. The guidelines continue to be refined. A good runoff in 2016 allowed three weeks of flushing flows throughout the Upper Colorado River Basin. Early in the year, Denver Water, due to planned construction projects within its Moffat Collection System, did not anticipate having available bypass water. However, in midsummer, following a request by LBD, conditions allowed Denver Water the ability to offer the release of 119 AF of voluntary bypass water intended to alleviate high stream temperatures in Ranch Creek. (See Appendix item, 2016 Summary of Denver Water's LBD Operations in the Fraser River Basin ) Denver Water and LBD will work cooperatively to analyze stream temperature data collected in 2016 to determine whether increased flows were successful in reducing stream temperature. Also in accordance with the LBD IGAs, the Operations Subcommittee and additional stakeholders conducted weekly conference calls from May 4 to September 7 to facilitate coordinated operations. Conditions on the Colorado River, Fraser River and tributaries such as runoff flows, temperatures, bypass amounts and calls on the river were shared and catalogued using a weekly tracking spreadsheet. The Management Committee provided the Operations Subcommittee with a Scope of Work (SOW) at the end of 2016, which the subcommittee will take up in 2017, including preparing an LBD Annual Operations Plan for 2017, utilizing weekly operations calls from May through September to coordinate releases, and completing an annual operations report. Monitoring In 2016, Grand County commissioned Tetra Tech to continue monitoring to evaluate flushing flows, sediment accumulation and predict trout embryo survival rates in key reaches within the Grand County Stream Management Plan (SMP) project area. Funding for this project is through contributions from Denver Water, Grand County, the Municipal Subdistrict, the River District and Trout Unlimited. The funding partners also contracted with Grand County Water Information Network (GCWIN) to conduct macroinvertebrate monitoring at 13 sites. This macroinvertebrate data, as well as fish survey data collected by Colorado Parks and Wildlife, has been incorporated in the SMP report since 2014 to provide a more comprehensive picture of aquatic health from year to year. The LBD Monitoring Subcommittee began developing a plan for pre- and post-project monitoring for LBD s Fraser Flats River Habitat Project. As part of the project monitoring plan, LBD commissioned GCWIN to place two stream temperature loggers upstream and downstream of the Fraser Flats reach, funded by Trout Unlimited and Denver Water. Additionally, the Monitoring Subcommittee prepared a proposed approach for creating a comprehensive LBD Monitoring Plan, which the Management Committee referred to in creating 4

5 a Scope of Work (SOW) for the subcommittee s next steps. The subcommittee will devote its efforts in 2017 to addressing the SOW s four outlined tasks: 1) Assist in developing an understanding of existing monitoring requirements and efforts within the LBD area 2) Evaluate potential monitoring gaps 3) Assist in evaluating effectiveness of LBD river restoration and operational efforts 4) Provide an annual monitoring plan and annual monitoring reports Also in 2016, Grand County reported to LBD that it was documenting and alerting the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) of contaminating discharges into the Fraser River by Union Pacific Railroad. CDPHE staff from the Water Quality Control Division s Enforcement Office attended an LBD meeting to provide updates in response to Grand County s concerns and requested LBD s suggestions for remediation. LBD will continue to work with Grand County and CDPHE to ensure that activities do not detract from LBD s goals for the affected Fraser River reaches. Public Outreach The LBD website launched in January 2016, and will be hosted by the River District through Links to LBD media coverage were added to the website following each article or column s publication. LBD members made presentations on the LBD collaborative effort s activities at the River District s State of the River event in May and the Sustaining Watersheds Conference in October. Resources While LBD s official launch is not required until after issuance of the RODs and permits to Denver Water and Northern Water, LBD members on both the Management and Technical committees continued to dedicate resources to keep LBD activities to improve stream health moving forward in 2016, including: 119 AF of voluntary environmental water (Denver Water) Release of $50,000 advance CRCA funds toward the Fraser Flats River Habitat Project by Denver Water $10,000 in LBD funds from Northern Water $14, from a Devil s Thumb Ranch surcharge that goes to LBD $87,900 awarded to the Fraser Flats project through the Colorado Parks and Wildlife s Fishing Is Fun grant program, to be used for the public section of the reach $3,500 Patagonia Enviro-grant for the Fraser Flats project $3,000 Margie and John Haley Environmental Project fund for Fraser Flats re-vegetation plants and supplies Continuation of a four-year, $120,000 private grant to cover the Project Coordinator contract Hundreds of hours of staff time from each Management Committee organization, including staff and volunteer time from Technical Committee members overseeing and advising on LBD activities 5

6 Goals for 2017 Complete Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the Fraser Flats River Habitat Project with contractor Execute Fraser Flats re-vegetation plan with community volunteers Select the next on-the-ground project(s) and begin funding and planning efforts for the implementation in 2018 Adopt a 2017 LBD Operations Plan and complete the Operations Plan Guidelines for future operational flexibility and environmental water releases in line with LBD s IGA requirements Develop an LBD Monitoring Plan consistent with LBD IGAs and other agreements Begin executing the Fraser Flats Project Monitoring Plan Prioritize stream reaches in Grand County s Stream Management Plan Continue public outreach to inform and seek public feedback regarding LBD efforts Coordinate efforts on advancing the Windy Gap Connectivity Channel project Continue outreach to other water stakeholder groups and funders to share LBD updates, forge potential collaborations or pursue funding opportunities Make LBD Annual Report and other historic documents accessible on LBD s website Learning By Doing team members and community volunteers assist with CPW electrofishing on the Fraser River, Oct

7 Appendix - LBD 2016 Annual Report 2016 Summary of Denver Water s LBD Operations in the Fraser River Basin Introduction Pursuant to the 2012 Colorado River Cooperative Agreement (CRCA), each year beginning with the year Denver Water s Moffat Project becomes operational, Denver Water will commit to distributing 1,000 acre-feet (AF) of water from its Fraser Collection System, which is a part of its larger Moffat Collection System, to streams in Grand County for the purposes of benefiting the aquatic environment (hereinafter, Fraser 1,000 AF ). The CRCA mandates that the Fraser 1,000 AF be bypassed from Denver Water s existing facilities in coordination with Learning By Doing (LBD) at the times, locations, and amounts requested by Grand County. Although the Moffat Project is not yet operational, in 2015 and again in 2016, Denver Water worked closely with Grand County and LBD to implement a voluntary pilot program to test the coordination of water releases from its Fraser Collection System to benefit the aquatic environment. In early 2016, Denver Water did not anticipate having voluntary bypass water available in late summer for the LBD pilot program since 2016 was predicted to be an average water year and due to planned construction activities within its Moffat Collection System. However, Denver Water anticipated that excess water and system flexibility would be available during the spring runoff period, which could be used for the program. Denver Water offered to release water at its diversions according to the recommendations of the LBD Operations Subcommittee, who selected which stream(s) would be prioritized to receive spill water during the spring runoff period. Additional bypass water became available for the LBD pilot program in 2016 as a result of Denver Water s construction and maintenance activities in the Vasquez Creek Collection System, whereby water that is typically diverted instead remained in streams within the greater Fraser River Basin. All voluntary bypass water releases were coordinated through the weekly Operations Subcommittee coordination calls in By late summer 2016, conditions allowed Denver Water the ability to offer the release of 100 AF of voluntary bypass water to alleviate high stream temperatures and a reported fish kill in Ranch Creek as part of the LBD pilot program. In total, Denver Water estimates that the amount of water voluntarily bypassed in Ranch Creek was 119 AF. The amount of water Denver Water bypassed as a result of construction activities in the Vasquez Creek Collection System was 1,279 AF. Combined, Denver Water s voluntary and construction related bypass water contributions in 2016 for the LBD pilot program equaled 1,398 AF. In an effort to better understand the interaction between stream flow and water temperature, Denver Water will model the impact additional flow releases (voluntary and construction related) had on stream temperature in Ranch Creek, Vasquez Creek, and the Fraser River using SSTEMP. This modelling effort was completed on the 2015 releases and the findings were shared with LBD in October

8 Summary of Coordination Efforts in 2016 Denver Water participated in weekly Operations Subcommittee coordination calls scheduled by LBD from May 4, 2016 to September 7, The purpose of the weekly calls was to discuss conditions on the Colorado River, Fraser River, and tributaries (such as weather conditions, runoff flows, and temperatures); active water rights calls on the rivers; as well as Denver Water s active diversions and bypass amounts. Attachment A shows an example of the weekly tracker spreadsheet that LBD participants used to discuss river conditions during the call. A call was held on May 4, 2016 to discuss Denver Water s operations during spring runoff and which stream(s) should be targeted in the event conditions allowed Denver Water to release voluntary and construction related bypass water at its diversions. Denver Water determined that it was likely to spill during the spring runoff period and so the Operations Subcommittee recommended high flow spills for Cabin Creek, Vasquez Creek, Trail Creek, and Meadow Creek. Pending sufficient spill water, each stream was to receive a flush for at least 72 hours. Much like in 2015, conditions during the spring of 2016 were wetter than anticipated and Denver Water bypassed water at all of its diversions during most of the spring runoff period. Originally, Denver Water did not anticipate having water for voluntary releases in late summer. However, due to wetter than expected spring conditions and high water temperatures in Ranch Creek, Denver Water offered to bypass an additional 5 cfs down Ranch Creek for about one week to see if the additional flows could alleviate high stream temperatures. Beginning on August 1, 2016, Denver Water released additional water down Ranch Creek from its North Ranch Creek Diversion, which lasted until August 10, These voluntary releases ranged from 6 cfs up to 8 cfs. In total, Denver Water estimates that 119 AF of additional water was released at its North Ranch Creek Diversion. In total for the entire Moffat Collection System, from mid-may to late July 2016, high flow conditions that are typical of peak snowmelt runoff combined with higher than average carryover storage caused Denver Water to spill approximately 64,000 AF of water at its diversion facilities in Grand County into tributaries of the Fraser River, including Hamilton Creek, St. Louis Creek, and Ranch Creek to name a few (Attachment B). As runoff flows began to decrease starting in mid-july, Denver Water began increasing its diversions to meet customer demand and to keep reservoirs full, which was similar to past years operations. LBD and Grand County agreed to select Ranch Creek as the focal stream in 2016 to receive the 100 AF voluntary bypass water for the LBD pilot program due to high temperatures and the reported fish kill. During the summer, Ranch Creek has an existing U.S. Forest Service (USFS)- designated minimum bypass flow requirements of 4 cfs, for which Denver Water is obligated to provide at its Main Ranch Creek Diversion. In 2016, Denver Water continued to provide the USFS-minimum bypass flows required on Ranch Creek in addition to the voluntary release of water at its North Fork Ranch Creek Diversion for the pilot program. 8

9 Ranch Creek Voluntary Bypass Flows At the request of Grand County and LBD, Denver Water began releasing the 100 AF of voluntary bypass water from its North Ranch Creek Diversion into Ranch Creek on August 1, 2016 and continued until August 10, 2016 (Attachment C-1). Vasquez Creek Construction-Related Bypass Flows As part of its planned system maintenance, Denver Water replaced a portion of the canal in the Vasquez Creek Collection System in the summer of As a result, Denver Water was not able to operate the Vasquez Creek Diversion during construction. This resulted in additional bypass flows at the Vasquez Creek Diversion above the 8 cfs required minimum bypass flow (from August 1 through September 15), and above the 4 cfs required minimum bypass flow (from September 16 through 20)(Attachment C-2). Due to the construction activities on the Vasquez Creek canal, Denver Water could not operate the upper Williams Fork Collection System during that period. As a result, water that is typically diverted by Denver Water remained in the Williams Fork River basin, which ultimately flows into the Colorado River. Summary of the 2016 LBD Pilot Program Denver Water coordinated with LBD and Grand County on the amount, duration, and timing of releases in Attachment D shows the daily accounting for Denver Water s voluntary 100 AF bypass water on Ranch Creek and the additional releases due to construction-related activities in the Vasquez Creek Collection System. As shown in Attachment D and in Table 1 below, the amount of water that Denver Water voluntarily bypassed to alleviate high stream temperatures on Ranch Creek was 119 AF. The amount of water Denver Water released as a result of construction activities in the Vasquez Creek Collection System was 1,279 AF. Combined, Denver Water s voluntary and construction related bypass water contributions in 2016 for the LBD pilot program equaled 1,398 AF. TABLE Summary of Denver Water s Voluntary and Construction Related Water Releases Total Amount of Water Dates Duration Location Bypassed for Construction or Stream Temperature* (AF) August 1 to August days Ranch Creek 119 August 1 September 51 days Vasquez Creek 1, TOTAL 1,398 *Does not include USFS-required bypass flows at Denver Water s Main Ranch Diversion or Vasquez Diversion 9

10 Preliminary Findings of the LBD Pilot Program Based upon feedback and field observations from LBD members, preliminary data suggest that stream temperatures in Ranch Creek were lower in part due to the increased bypass flows in Denver Water and LBD will work cooperatively to analyze stream temperature data collected in 2016 to determine whether evidence of a reduction in stream temperatures was identified due to the increased flows. If conditions permit in 2017 or in future years prior to operation of the Moffat Project, Denver Water is committed to working cooperatively with LBD and Grand County to perform additional trials of the voluntary pilot program. Junior Water Right Update Consistent with the CRCA, Denver Water and other parties obtained a junior water right in 2015, which will be used to shepherd the Fraser 1,000 AF bypass flows. The junior water right was not used in 2016 since water had not been previously stored in Gross Reservoir as required by the decree. Therefore, the voluntary 100 AF of bypass water released on Ranch Creek through the LBD pilot program could not be shepherded past downstream water rights. However, since agricultural users comprise a large portion of neighboring water rights holders, it is unlikely that the 100 AF bypass water was diverted by downstream users since the water was released in late summer, which is during the haying season when the fields need to be dry in order to hay. Additionally, LBD outreach with agricultural users on Ranch Creek resulted in agreement that the users would not increase their diversions for irrigation during that time. Denver Water is not aware of any dry-ups on Ranch Creek, so it is likely that the voluntary bypass water made it through Ranch Creek. 10

11 ATTACHMENT A An Example of LBD s Weekly Flow Sheet Tracker DATE 8/19/2015 Fraser and Colorado River & Tributary flows Water Temp (F) Remarks MWAT ( F) (cfs) and Water Temperature (F) Station ID Flow (cfs) Bypass Fraser at Winter Park Jim DW diversion DW /0 Fraser and Jim Creek diversion Vasquez DW diversion DW 15 8 Vasquez Winter Park St. Louis DW diversion DW St. Louis Creek near Fraser Ranch DW diversion DW Cabin and others bypassing ranch Ranch Creek near Fraser max Ranch Creek blw Meadow Ck max Cabin Ck near Fraser Fraser at Tabernash max Fraser blw Crooked Ck mean Fraser near Granby NW 56 Colorado below Windy Gap max 2 hr ave Colorado at Hot Sulphur NW 302 Colorado near Parshall NW 484 Bobtail DW diversion DW 4 - Bobtail Ck near Jones Pass McQueary DW diversion DW 2 - Steelman DW diversion DW 3 - Williams Fork blw Steelman Colorado near Kremmling (KB) NW 436 Colorado below Kremmling , max Eagle blw Gypsum Colorado at Dotsero ,567 River Call Sr Shoshone w/moffat Swing Total Reservoirs (AF) Station ID Total Rel (cfs) Content Capacity (AF(AF) Remarks Granby , ,412 4,159 Pumped Water for GC - - Willow Creek WILWCRCO 41 10,553 9,354 Williams Fork ,822 94, of fish for WM 2,500 2,500-0 in 2015 Fraser 1, , in 2015 Dillon , ,775 Green Mtn , ,539 Wolford ,985 48,419 going to 70 out today Meadow Creek DW 5 5,370 4,313 Gross BOCBGRCO ,811 39,064 Ralston DW 4 10,776 9,546 DM ( F) A-1

12 Diversions (cfs) Station ID Flow (cfs) Capacity (cf Remarks Adams Tunnel ADATUNCO 25 Windy Gap (pump) NW - Moffat Tunnel MOFTUNCO 45 1,360 Gumlick Tunnel DW Roberts Tunnel ROBTUNCO 0 1,200 Instream Minimum Flow Target (cfs) Target Flow (CWCB) Remarks Fraser at Winter Park Jim DW diversion - - below Vasquez DW diversion 8 3 below Fraser at Tabernash - 11 St. Louis DW diversion 3 2 Ranch DW diversion 2 2 Fraser at Granby 19 Colorado below Granby Colorado below Windy Gap 90 Colorado at Hot Sulphur 90 Colorado near Parshall 135 below WF Bobtail DW diversion 1 McQueary DW diversion - Stellman DW diversion 1 Colorado near Kremmling (KB) 150 Blue below Green Mtn Colorado below Kremmling 500 Eagle at confluence 130 Colorado at Dotsero - Projected Total Denver Water System Wide Operations Aug EOM Capacity Content Total System Storage (AF) KAF 672, ,859 daily report Moffat Treatment Rate (mgd) Mareston Treanment Rate (mgd) Foothills Treatment Rate (mgd) Projected North end Spill (AF) 0 additional Moffat Projected South end Spill (AF) 0 additional Dillon A-2

13 ATTACHMENT B 2016 Cumulative Spills of Water from the Moffat Collection System In total for the entire Moffat Collection System, from mid-may to late July 2016, high flow conditions that are typical of peak snowmelt runoff combined with higher than average carryover storage caused Denver Water to spill approximately 64,000 AF of water at its diversion facilities in Grand County into tributaries of the Fraser River. As shown in the graph below, as runoff flows began to decrease starting in mid-july, Denver Water began increasing its diversions to meet customer demand and to keep reservoirs full, which was similar to past years operations. The start of the release of water from the voluntary 100 AF bypass water and the additional water releases due to construction activities began on August 1, 2016, as shown in the graph below. In addition to its planned construction in the Vasquez Creek Collection System, Denver Water released water for three other construction or maintenance activities (referred to as outages ), which occurred in During these outages, Denver Water bypassed water it would have otherwise diverted in order to perform the necessary construction or maintenance activities. Two complete outages occurred in 2016, one from August 14 th to August 19 th for an inspection of the Moffat Tunnel and the other from October 16 th to October 19 th for a follow-up inspection at the East Portal. A partial outage occurred on the St. Louis Creek portion of the system from September 19 th to September 20 th for survey work. Note: Minimum bypass levels do not equal zero but instead represent the USFS-required minimum bypass flows. Flows (cfs) Moffat Collection System Spills 2016 Start of voluntary bypasses. Stopped voluntary bypasses. BIG VASQUEZ CABIN CREEK ELK CREEK FRASER RIVER HAMILTON CREEK HURD CREEK LITTLE CABIN CREEK LITTLE VASQUEZ MEADOW CREEK RANCH CREEK ST LOUIS CREEK TRAIL CREEK Total bypass flows when spilling include required bypass for fish and irrigation. Flows are cumulative. Outages B-1

14 ATTACHMENT C North Fork Ranch Creek Diversion Releases of the Voluntary 100 AF Bypass Water As shown in the graph below, the 100 AF of voluntary bypass water was released from Denver Water s diversion on North Ranch Creek beginning on August 1 st and ending on August 10 th, Denver Water does not have a minimum bypass flow requirement at its North Fork Ranch Creek Diversion. These releases at the North Ranch Creek Diversion were made in addition Denver Water s 4 cfs minimum bypass requirement at its Main Ranch Creek Diversion. North Fork of Ranch Creek Bypass Flow (cfs) Date 7/27/2016 7/28/2016 7/29/2016 7/30/2016 7/31/2016 8/1/2016 8/2/2016 8/3/2016 8/4/2016 8/5/2016 8/6/2016 8/7/2016 8/8/2016 8/9/2016 8/10/2016 8/11/2016 8/12/2016 8/13/2016 8/14/2016 8/15/2016 Date C-1

15 Attachment C Vasquez Creek Spills During Peak Snowmelt Runoff and the Release of Water Due to Construction-Related Activities in the Vasquez Creek Collection System As shown in the graph below, construction-related bypass flows at Denver Water s Vasquez Creek Diversion were released from August 1 st to September 20 th, While not at the request of LBD, Denver Water intends to analyze the effects of additional water releases on Vasquez Creek in relation to stream temperature. Denver Water plans to share the results with LBD in Note: Minimum bypass levels do not equal zero but instead represent the USFS-required minimum bypass flows Vasquez Creek Spills 2016 Start of voluntary bypasses Flows (cfs) Stopped voluntary bypasses. Total bypass flows when spilling include required bypass for fish and irrigation. Flows are cumulative C-1

16 ATTACHMENT D 2016 Daily Accounting of Releases of the Voluntary 100 AF Bypass Water and the Releases of Water Due to Construction-Related Activities Note: Bypass flows shown are approximate. Denver Water committed to release 100 AF of voluntary bypass water for the LBD pilot program in 2016 on Ranch Creek. Additional bypass water was released in 2016 due to Denver Water s planned construction or maintenance activities in the greater Fraser Collection System. In total, Denver Water estimates that it released 1,398 AF of voluntary and construction bypass water into the Fraser River watershed in Required Bypass (cfs) Actual Bypass (cfs) A new approach to managing aquatic resources Additional Bypass (cfs) Cumulative Total Bypass (AF) Bypass Date Location 8/1/2016 North Ranch /1/2016 Vasquez Creek /2/2016 North Ranch /2/2016 Vasquez Creek /3/2016 North Ranch /3/2016 Vasquez Creek /4/2016 North Ranch /4/2016 Vasquez Creek /5/2016 North Ranch /5/2016 Vasquez Creek /6/2016 North Ranch /6/2016 Vasquez Creek /7/2016 North Ranch /7/2016 Vasquez Creek /8/2016 North Ranch /8/2016 Vasquez Creek /9/2016 North Ranch /9/2016 Vasquez Creek /10/2016 North Ranch /10/2016 Vasquez Creek /11/2016 Vasquez Creek /12/2016 Vasquez Creek /13/2016 Vasquez Creek /14/2016 Vasquez Creek /15/2016 Vasquez Creek /16/2016 Vasquez Creek /17/2016 Vasquez Creek /18/2016 Vasquez Creek /19/2016 Vasquez Creek /20/2016 Vasquez Creek

17 8/21/2016 Vasquez Creek /22/2016 Vasquez Creek /23/2016 Vasquez Creek /24/2016 Vasquez Creek /25/2016 Vasquez Creek /26/2016 Vasquez Creek /27/2016 Vasquez Creek /28/2016 Vasquez Creek /29/2016 Vasquez Creek /30/2016 Vasquez Creek /31/2016 Vasquez Creek /1/2016 Vasquez Creek /2/2016 Vasquez Creek /3/2016 Vasquez Creek /4/2016 Vasquez Creek /5/2016 Vasquez Creek /6/2016 Vasquez Creek /7/2016 Vasquez Creek /8/2016 Vasquez Creek /9/2016 Vasquez Creek /10/2016 Vasquez Creek /11/2016 Vasquez Creek /12/2016 Vasquez Creek /13/2016 Vasquez Creek /14/2016 Vasquez Creek /15/2016 Vasquez Creek /16/2016 Vasquez Creek /17/2016 Vasquez Creek /18/2016 Vasquez Creek /19/2016 Vasquez Creek /20/2016 Vasquez Creek /21/2016 Vasquez Creek /22/2016 Vasquez Creek /23/2016 Vasquez Creek /24/2016 Vasquez Creek /25/2016 Vasquez Creek /26/2016 Vasquez Creek /27/2016 Vasquez Creek /28/2016 Vasquez Creek /29/2016 Vasquez Creek /30/2016 Vasquez Creek A new approach to managing aquatic resources 17