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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />SUMMARY SHEET <br /> <br />Lower Gunnison Basin Unit-North Fork area <br /> <br />Colorado River Water Quality Improvement Program <br /> <br />LOCATION <br /> <br />The Lower Gunnison Basin Unit-North Fork study area is located in Delta <br /> <br />County in west-central Colorado and consists of irrigated lands along the <br /> <br />Gunnison River and North Fork of the Gunnison River within the boundaries of <br /> <br />the North Fork, Smith Fork, Fruitland Mesa, and the Grand Mesa Water <br /> <br />Conservancy Districts. The confluence of the North Fork and Gunnison River 1S <br /> <br />about 6 miles downstream from Hotchkiss. The Gunnison River in turn flows <br /> <br />into the Colorado River. <br /> <br />PURPOSE <br /> <br />The purpose of the study 1S to locate the sources and volume of salt <br /> <br />entering the river system and to formulate acceptable and cost effective plans <br /> <br />for reducing the salinity. <br />BACKGROUND <br /> <br />Studies on the Lower Gunnison Basin Unit-North Fork area will be con- <br /> <br />ducted under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act of October 18, 1972, the <br /> <br />Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act of June 24, 1974 (Public Law 93-320) <br /> <br />and Public Law 96-375 of October 3, 1980. The Soil Conservation Service (SCS) <br /> <br />has completed a study of potential on-farm improvements in a l7l,000-acre <br /> <br />study area which encompassed both the North Fork and Uncompahgre Valley areas <br /> <br />and their recommendations are presented in a report entitled Potential for <br /> <br />On-Farm Irrigation Improvements, September 1981. The SCS estimated that about <br /> <br />200,000 tons of salt enter the river system annually from off-farm sources in <br /> <br />the North Fork area. <br /> <br />0;(994 <br />