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..,.....- '<"/.;{c'.'..a,>.-::;>\ ~ o:::t' ~ SUMMARY SHEETS Silt project LOCATION: Near the towns of Rifle and Silt, Garfield County, west- central Colorado. AUTHORIZED: As a participating project with the Colorado River Storage project by the act of April 11, 1956 (70 Stat. 105). PLAN The project will provide for regulation of the flow of Rifle Creek and for pumping from the Colorado River for the irrigation of 6,597 acres of land, including 2,118 acres not presently irrigated, 4,160 acres in need of supplemental water, and 319 acres in need of a new source of water. It will also provide benefits to fish and wild- life and recreation. Rifle Creek water will be regulated at the 12,650-acre-foot Rifle Gap Reservoir to be formed by a dam across the creek channel. Part of the stored water will be released from the reservoir into the Davie ditch, presently abandoned, which will be reconstructed to serve lands on Davie Mesa. The remaining stored water will be released to Rifle Creek, replacing natural flows pres- ently used on downstream lands. The replaced natural flows will be diverted from East Rifle Creek into the existing Grass Valley Canal and used for irrigation of new and supplemental service lands in Dry Elk Valley and on Harvey Mesa. The Dry Elk Valley lateral will be constructed to distribute part of the water from the Grass Val- ley Canal. Some water will be pumped from the Colorado River at the proposed 32-second-foot capacity Silt Pumping Plant and conveyed in the Silt Pump Canal to lands on the lower portion of Harvey Mesa. Part of the water from the Grass Valley Canal and Harvey Gap Reser- voir presently used on these lower lands will thus be freed for use as an additional supply for lands above the pump canal. In order to conserve water for project use the irrigators will limit early- season diversions and will discontinue irrigation diversions out- side of the irrigation season. Land drains will be constructed as necessary. Basic recreational facilities will be provided at the Rifle Gap Reservoir. The reservoir will provide moderate fishing benefits and the project will be beneficial to waterfowl.