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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During late season and dry periods, the flow in the streams
in the froblef Area become too low to sustain good fisheries.
There is a shortage pf water areas in lakes and reservoir~ to meet
the water-based recreation, fiahing and hunting demands. The
p~ojected and present needs for recreation use for ASA 1102 are
as follows:

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Land Water
Year Acres Acres River Miles
1975 1,000 39,000 110
1985 1,300 44,000 120
2000 1,600 53,000 140

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The Fryingpan-~rkansas Project, when fully operational, will
provipe an additional 7,800 acres of water on an unknown area of
land not consider~d in the above table. Most of the recreation use
is iry the mountains of Problem Area No.1.

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Water Quality. The Arkansas River and tributaries upstream
of Buena ~ista, Colorado, are polluted from numerous abandoned mines,
notably in California Gulch. About 10 miles of the mainstem of the
Arkansas River and about 20 miles of tributary streams sre unable
to support self-sustaining fishing because of the mine pollution.
D~ain8ge from ~ines in the Cripple Creek area are polluting Four
Mile Creek for a number of miles.

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Related Land Is~ues:

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Floods. Floods on the Arkansas River, Fountain Creek and
their tributaries are a serious problem. Urban and built-up areaa
of Colprado Springs, Fountain, Security and Pueblo are subject to
damaging floods on Fountain Creek. Local flooding occurs at the
communities o~ Salida, Cotopaxi, Canon City, Florence and Portland
from the Arkansas River and tributaries.

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Water Related Use Conflicts. Prime irrigafed farm lands
are being converted to urban uses in the rapidly developing SMSA's
of Colorado Springs and Pueblo. The water rights for the agricul-
tural lands are usually converted to domestic uses along with the
land. It is estimated that irrigation water from 12,000 acres will
be converteq to urban development between 1975 and 2000.

Institutional Issues:

The issue of Federal claims for water rights on public lands
with dates of priority as the date of public land withdrawal should
be settled. These Federal claims should be quantified. The State
of Colorado lacks 8 strong land-use policy which will control the
transfer of prime irrigated croplands and attached water rights
to urban uses. Presently the agricultural econpmy is gradually
being eroded ~y such transfers in the rapidly d~veloping Colorado
~prings and Pueblo SMSA's.

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