WSP10064

• File Number: 8112.600
• Description: Arkansas White Red Basins Interagency Committee - AWRBIAC -- Reports
• Basin: Arkansas
• Water Division: 2
• Date: 4/1/1977
• Title: Technical Memorandum -- Activity 3 Phase II -- Specific Problem Analysis - 1975 National Assessment -- Arkansas-White-Red Region Part 1 of 2
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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The mountain slopes are forested from about 7,500 feet eleva-
tion to 11,000 feet. The valley floors are primarily brush, open
hay and meadow lands. There are about 42,000 acres of irrigated
hay land and 15,000 acres of irrigated field crops in the Arkansas
River valleys ;above Pueblo. There are about 12,000 acres of ir-
rigated hay and field crops in the Fountain Creek drainage. Ap-
proximately 46% of the Problem area are Federal lands administered
by the following:

Forest Service National Forests
Bureau bf Land Management
Military

1,096,400 acres
504,500 acres
82,600 acres

1,683,500 acres

TOTAL

In 1967, there were 111,600 a~res of urban and built-up land,
and it is estimated to have increased to 140,000 acres by 1975.
The total population of the area in 1975 was 458,670. Of this
total, 423,670 people live in the Colorado Springs and Pueblo
SMSA's.

The principal economic activities in the area are agriculture,
manufacturing, mining and tourism. The agricultural production
in the Arkansas River Basin supplies food and kindred products
for a great number of manufacturing and processing establishments
in the Colorado Springs and Pueblo area. The large C.F.&I. steel
plant is located at Pueblo. Other important types of manufactur-
ing include electronics equipment, cement and gypsum wallboard,
agricultural equipment, furniture and wood products, lumbering,
and primary smelting of selected ores. The mining industry is an
important economic factor in the area, where over 21 different
mineral products have been extracted. The principal ones are
molybdenum, coal, zinc, lead, gold, silver and limestone. The
largest molybdenum mine in the United States is located near
Leadville, Colorado. The Air Force Academy and Fort Carson near
Colorado Springs contribute heavily to the local economy.

Tourism is a major industry in the Problem Area, as it is
throughout Colorado. The public and private forests provide fa-
cilities for camping, picnicking, hiking, fishing, hunting and
skiing. There are 1,916 surface acres of lakes and reservoirs,
owned or leased by the State of Colorado for recreational uses.
About 60% of the income from recreation is derived from out-of-
state visitors.

The melt of the snowfall in the mountaina provides the major
portion of the water supply in the Arkansas River Basin. The
recorded flows of the Arkansas River and the Fountain Creek
stream gages at Pueblo, are presented below:

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