Papers of Ronald K. Blatchley

Collection

Identifier: WRKB

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Papers of Ronald K. Blatchley consists of documents dated from 1938 and 1963 to 2007. The bulk of the collection is reports by Blatchley Associates. More limited materials also exist from Blatchley's other firms, North Fork Associates and Mountain Mutual Reservoir Company, typically being files of smaller quantity. Reports by the firms of Tipton and Kalmbach and W. W. Wheeler and Associates are also present and identified as such, though it is not clear if Blatchley worked on them. The Blatchley Associates reports were generally for small, individual clients such as subdivisions, school districts, cities, ranches, and other real estate development projects. They were generally located in the Denver metropolitan area or the counties of Park, Teller, Douglas, Jefferson, and Clear Creek. Document types are most often augmentation plans, water rights evaluations, and groundwater studies, but also include data, correspondence, maps, and photographic materials. Many of the augmentation plans include selling shares of the Mountain Mutual Reservoir Company to the clients.

Dates

Creation: 1938, 1963-2007
Creation: Majority of material found within 1974-1995

Creator

Blatchley, Ronald K. (Person)

Restrictions on Access

All "confidential" markings have been determined to be for administrative purposes, not national security information; therefore, these materials are open for access. However, the collection is stored off-site, so advance notice is required.

Restrictions on Use

Not all of the material in the collection is in the public domain. Researchers are responsible for addressing copyright issues.

Biography

Ronald K. Blatchley worked as a water consultant for clients in the Denver metropolitan area and the Upper South Platte Basin west of Denver. The focus of his firm Blatchley Associates was generally on groundwater issues.

Blatchley was born September 6, 1929, in Nebraska and lived through the Dust Bowl there. In the spring of 1939, the family moved to Fort Collins to farm south of Harmony Road. In 1951, Blatchley graduated with a B.S. in civil engineering from Colorado A&M (now Colorado State University). After graduation, he joined the U.S. Air Force to serve in Germany and was discharged in 1953. Blatchley then worked at U.S. Fidelity and Guaranty Company as a safety engineer. He attended graduate school at the University of Colorado for hydraulics, hydrology, and geology from 1956 to 1962.

Blatchley worked at Tipton and Kalmbach as a hydrologist and design engineer for groundwater and reclamation projects in West Pakistan. He also worked at W. W. Wheeler and Associates as a water resources project engineer where he designed dams, hydraulic facilities, transmountain collection facilities, and treatment plants. In 1969, after Colorado water law was recodified, Blatchley started his own water engineering consulting firm, Blatchley Associates, Inc. He provided services to municipalities, school districts, and clients involved in real estate development. With his brother William in 1980, Blatchley started two firms, North Fork Associates LLC and Mountain Mutual Reservoir Company, to provide water rights for small augmentation plans. Blatchley retired in 2010 and currently lives in Denver.

Extent

10.5 linear feet (7 record cartons)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

Ronald K. Blatchley (b. 1929) was a water consultant in Colorado from the early 1960s into the 2000s. He worked at two firms, Tipton and Kalmbach, and W. W. Wheeler and Associates, before starting his own consulting firms Blatchley Associates, North Fork Associates, and Mountain Mutual Reservoir Company. Consisting mainly of reports from his firms, the collection includes augmentation plans, water rights evaluations, and groundwater studies. Blatchley's clients were mostly located in the Denver metropolitan area and the counties of Park, Teller, Douglas, Jefferson, and Clear Creek.

Arrangement

Many of the reports for clients were already filed together when the collection was donated. If they were Blatchley's clients over a long period of time though, the reports were not originally together but were rearranged to be so. The collection is arranged in alphabetical order by client or project name. Reports not by Blatchley Associates or his other firms are listed by title.

The collection consists of 1 series in 7 boxes:

Series 1: Papers, 1938 and 1963-2007

Acquisition

The Papers of Ronald K. Blatchley was donated by Mr. Blatchley in October 2017, with one small addition in December 2019.

Related Collections

The Papers of Royce J. Tipton, containing some Tipton and Kalmbach reports, is related, as Blatchley briefly worked at the firm.

Processing

Processing was completed in October 2021. Metal fasteners were removed, and papers were taken out of binders. Materials were rehoused in acid-free folders and boxes and were arranged in alphabetical order by client or project name. Items that duplicated holdings elsewhere, along with published reports not by Blatchley or his companies, were not retained. Some data printouts Blatchley received from the State Engineer's Office also were not retained. Two items were transferred to the Colorado Water Congress Collection.