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<br />,. <br /> <br />44 <br /> <br />:r13 " <br /> <br />, <br /> <br />RUEDI DAM AND RESERVOIR, COLO. <br /> <br />irri~ation service. It is possible that additional wau,.r could be pro- <br />vid~d for such lands fronl Cattle Creek through exchange with lower <br />lands or by development of other water sources. <br /> <br />M Dunt Sopm area <br />Several hirly large blocks of arable lands are located near Mount <br />Sopris between the Roarin" Fork and Crystal Rivers above the con- <br />flue-nee. of the. two streaJns.'=' ~Iost. of the iow-er lands in this area. are <br />irrigated from existing gravity ditches diverting from t.he t.wo main <br />streams. These lands hnTe an adequate water supply at present. <br />An estimated 7,200 llcres of aruble lands are situated above the <br />service areas of ditches from the t.wo lnain streams. An undeter- <br />mined portion of these higher la.nds now receives irrigation water <br />from Snowmass and Sopris Creeks, tributaries of the. H?uring Fork <br />Ri,'er, and Prince Creek, fi tributary of th~ c;rystnl R,,'er. Some <br />of the lands are presently undeyeloped for IrrigatIOn purposes and <br />it is believed that at least part of t.he preseutly Irrigated hnds are <br />in need of additiOllO.1 wat"l". Nelll'ly all of the irrigateci lands are <br />devoted to the production of ha,y and pasture. <br />At the time the Clilfs-Di,'ide investigation was begun, about. 2,700 <br />t!('.res of lands were ilTigated from SIlUWlJ1aSti, Sopl'is, ulHl Prince <br />Creeks, nnd an additional 4,500 acres of [l,J'able lands in the same <br />area were UlHleveJoped. Inrestigations were unilertaken of :t plan <br />to more completely and efficiently ntilize flows of the three streams t.o <br />supplement the wnt.er supply of t,he irrignJpd laIl(1s, llnd to l)J'()\Ti(1F~ 11 <br />full water supply for the undeveloped lands. Before tlm investig"- <br />tiOIlS ''"em completed, however, two prin1.te groups hega.n construc- <br />tion of works which corresponded closely With most of t.he. major <br />features contemplated under the pln,n being investigat.L"tl. The inves~ <br />tigations of the Mount Sopris development were therefore discon- <br />tillued. <br />At least one of the maior features of t.he plan was not const.ructed <br />and others were probably not construded to sufficient ~:1pacity to <br />allow full irrigatIOn development of the area. The pJn.n was also <br />dependent. upon several water exchanges that apparentlJ! ]luTe not <br />been made at. the present time. For t.hese reasons it is believed that <br />nn ndequate wnter supply is not. av"ilable for "II arable lands in the <br />a.rea. <br />An undetermined portion of t.he Mount Sopris lands could be pro- <br />vided ",'ater through construction of a siphon across the Roaring' <br />Fork River Vallev from the poteut.ial conduit. le"ding from Ruedi <br />Rcsen:oir to the Cattle Creek arca. Sufficieut data are not available <br />at t.his t.ime to determine either t.he physical requirements or the eco- <br />nomic justificat.ion of providing snell service. The plan could be <br />investig-ated in eonjl1nction with possible investigations of the Cattle <br />Creek del'elopment. <br /> <br />Bluc8tone area <br />The Bluestone area consists of lands along the north side of the <br />Colorado River between the towns of Rifle and De Beque and on the <br />south side of the riwr from the town of Grand Valley to a point <br />about 5 miles downstream from De Beque. Part of the lands on the <br />nor~h side of t.he ri,:e.r was on~e .served by the aban~oned ....Hfl..vemeyer <br /><IVtiCOX) canal whIch was orlglllally constructed III l'OO. for dh'er- <br />