High Country Hydrology

Butterfly on hands

                                     We Use Data
                     to Develop Knowledge
                 and Take Decisive Action

Projects

The staff at High Country Hydrology has years of experience working on water resources engineering, planning and management projects. We have worked on and managed projects ranging from small assignments requiring a single-person to large undertakings utilizing teams of experts from different fields. We have worked for the Federal Government, State and County agencies, municipal providers and individual water users.

Past projects include:

Sugar Loaf Fire ISO

Water Supply
ISO Rating, Sugar Loaf CO

The Insurance Services Organization (ISO) rates fire departments on how well they can suppress fires. ISO issues ratings from 1 (excellent) to 10 (none), which are used by many insurance agencies to set fire insurance rates. One of the key factors in fire fighting ability is the available water supply. The Sugar Loaf Fire Department has numerous water sources that are fed by springs and streams. The fire department retained High Country Hydrology to assess the water supply available during a 50-year drought, the ISO standard. High Country's staff found that most of the water supplies were viable during a drought of this magnitude, which allowed the fire department to apply for a lower ISO rating.

Aurora Economic Model

Raw Water Planning and Management
Economic Analysis Tool, Aurora CO

In 2006 Aurora Water contracted with High Country staff to develop a raw water system economic analysis tool. The tool calculates the cost per acre-foot of water delivered to its treatment plants. The tool calculates the cost for water from each of the utility's water supplies, and includes the cost of purchase, storage, exchange and pumping between the physical source and delivery to the South Platte basin. This tool allows the City to determine the cost and benefits of new projects in relation to its existing water rights and facilities.

Los Alamos Hydrologic Study

Physical Hydrology
Watershed Assessment, Los Alamos County NM

Most of the Los Alamos watershed burned in May 2000 during the Cerro Grande Fire. In 2007, the County of Los Alamos retained High Country staff to evaluate the hydrology of the Los Alamos watershed to determine if there was a sufficient physical and legal water supply to provide a water supply at the Pajarito Ski Area. Our work showed that there was sufficient supply to refill a storage tank and small reservoir in all but the driest of years. The report from this work provided the foundation necessary to receive approval to construct the facilities.

Colorado Springs Exchange Modeling

Hydrologic Modeling
Exchange Yield Modeling, Colorado Springs CO

In the mid-1990's Colorado Springs Utilities determined that it needed to construct a new raw water pipeline to the City to provide additional raw water delivery capacity and system redundancy. As part of this project, Utilities filed for a new exchange right above Pueblo Reservoir. In 2007 Utilities hired High Country's staff to model water rights on the Arkansas River to determine the potential yield from the exchange. High Country's engineering report was used as a corner stone to the court case and negotiations with objectors.