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5.0 SUMMARY OF ISSUES AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RIVER BASIN PLANNING
5.0 SUMMARY OF ISSUES AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR
FUTURE RIVER BASIN PLANNING
River basin planning is an important function of the Wyoming Water Development Commission
(WWDC) and the State. The purpose of the river basin plans is to define what the state’s water resources
are, how they are being used, and where water is available for development. The plans also project water
demands in the future by evaluating population and economic growth. The planning process is designed
to be dynamic, allowing updates, changes, and adjustments to be made through time. This continuing
planning process implies an evolution and refinement of the plans and process. Preparation of this
Framework Water Plan, Volume II has allowed a review of the initial plans and the planning process.
From the information gathered for this volume, through discussions and inquiries, the following issues
and recommendations have been developed. These issues and recommendations will help guide the first
generation of plan updates and the continuing planning process.
The outreach plans developed during the original river basin planning process should be
continued and improved. The plans should address how best to provide information to the public and
how to involve the public in the planning process. The outreach plans should review the Basin Advisory
Group (BAG) process. The review should strive to adopt new ideas for maintaining the BAGs diversity,
viability and effectiveness.
River basin planning data and information should be presented, as much as possible, in electronic
formats. Plans, studies, and data should be presented through an Internet-based system that allows ease of
access and the ability to link to related sites and data sets. This might include an internet based
Geographic Information System (GIS)/database tool for data and information dissemination.
As part of river basin planning, coordination with local, state, and federal agencies should be
promoted, and agency involvement with BAGs should be encouraged. River basin plans should
incorporate data from a variety of agencies. These data should be integrated into the plans’ digital
products through the use of links to other agency databases. Where appropriate these data should be
incorporated directly into the plans.
River basin planning should consider transitioning from spreadsheet water supply models to more
sophisticated models that allow for more accurate consideration of water availability, uses, storage, and
conservation. Many river basin scale models require large data sets to accurately predict water supplies.
River basin planning will need to consider how best to collect and incorporate such data to allow more
accurate identification of where and in what quantity water is available for use.
River basin planning efforts should incorporate a longer water supply period of record in all
modeling efforts to capture long drought periods and climate variability. River basin plans should use
these data to more accurately project water availability, uses, and needs. Additionally, the plans should
estimate the water available for development under the various compacts and decrees for wet, dry, and
average hydrologic conditions. These efforts should be completed regardless of the model type selected.
Data collection will be needed to support the modeling effort to allow model accuracy.
Future river basin planning efforts and plan updates should focus on problems within the first
plans or areas of substantial change within the basin, and not simply repeat the entire planning process.
Updating every aspect of a basin plan at frequent intervals is not needed or cost-effective. Also
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