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I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I 3652 installing subsurface drains, and installing drip or sprinkler irrigation systems. The onEarm program Eor this unit' is expected to annually remove approximately 130,000 tons of salt from the Colorado River. This would reduce the salinity at Imperial Dam by about 13 mg/I. The Department of Agriculture appropriated $1.7 million in 1979, $1.8 million in 1980, and $1.7 million in 1981 Eor construction of onfarm programs in the Grand Valley. At the end of 1961, $3.4 million had been cost-shared. The cost-sharing percentage has varied between 75-90 percent for the Federal government and 10-25 percent for ~he farmer. The USDA costs (1982) based on a 75 percent cost-share, is estimated at $36,600,000 with the total cost being $64,000.00. Including the farmers share of improvements, the cost-efffectiveness is approximately $400,000 per mg/l. Impacts The economic impacts of this $64,000,000 program may be significant to the farmer. The farmer is required to provide 25 percent of the cost of the installed system, up to a maximum of $3,000; The average cost-share in the valley has been about $2500. This project would put about a $13,000,000 cost-share burden on the participating farmers over a ten-year period. Based on the 1982 Lower Gunnison Basin unit report, this program could increase employment by 150 during project implementation. At the present time, the onfarm program in the Grand Valley is operating without a mitigation plan. However, the results of the Bureau of Reclamation's monitoring program in this area will be used to evaluate the impacts of the onfarm program and to formulate a coordinated effort to mitigate these impacts. -18-