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'4Gi~ Introduction Montgomery Watson and Black and Veatch were contracted to conduct technical and environmental studies to provide data on six selected alternative water storage projects which will provide 173,100 acre feet of new water storage for Colorado Springs Utilities and the Southern Colorado Water Conservancy District. Alternative selection is to take social, environmental, and cultural variables into account. Montgomery Watson subcontracted Pioneer Archaeological Consultants, Inc. (PAC) of Longmont, Colorado to gather and synthesize known cultural resource data within six study areas involved in the six alternative projects and to assess each alternative from the standpoint of impacts to cultural resources. The six alternatives included the Fry-Ark Re-Operation, the Pueblo Reservoir Enlargement, the Turquoise Reservoir Enlargement, the Lake Meredith Enlargement, Gravel Lakes Storage, and Williams Creek Reservoir. It is likely that two or more of the above alternatives will be combined to meet the overall storage needs. No physical changes will be required to implement the Fry-Ark Re-Operation alternative. Reservoir enlargement will increase dam height for Pueblo Reservoir (5-10 feet; 25,000 -75,000 acre feet of storage), Turquoise Lake (5-11 feet; increase 10,000-20,000 acre feet of storage), or Lake Meredith (II feet; 75,000 acre feet of storage). The Gravel Lakes alternative involves the conversion of sand and gravel pits along the Arkansas River near Pueblo to water storage facilities holding approximately 13,000 acre feet of water. Another alternative is the construction of a dam on Williams Creek in southern El Paso County to form a 30,000 acre foot reservoir. The six study areas included in these project alternatives are Lake Meredith in Crowley County, Turquoise Lake and Twin Lakes in Lake County, Pueblo Reservoir and Gravel Lakes sites in Pueblo County, and a site along Williams Creek in south- central EI Paso County. Records examined during the study included the site files of the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation at the Colorado Historical Society, the Pike-San Isabel Office of the U.S. Forest Service, and the Eastern Plains Area Office of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Data concerning irrigation ditches within the study area was obtained principally from the Colorado Division Water Resources, Division 2, Water Districts 12, 14, 15, and 17 and from a number of people directly involved with the various ditches. Libraries consulted for information on irrigation ditches and the Arkansas Valley Conduit include the Pueblo Chieftain Archives, the Western History Department of the Pueblo Library. and the Local History Section of the Pikes Peak Public Library. Will Tully of the Eastern Colorado Area Office of the Bureau of Reclamation was contacted for information concerning cultural resources studies of Pueblo Reservoir, Twin Lakes and Turquoise Lake. He also provided information on the Fryingpan- Arkansas Project. Research was conducted at the Pike-San Isabel National Forest Office in Pueblo concerning sites under their jurisdiction around Twin Lakes and Turquoise Lake. The PAC study identified all recorded cultural resources located within the six study areas, identified some presently unrecorded and unevaluated irrigation ditches known to exist or have existed in the study areas, and identified areas that have been subjected to intensive cultural resource inventories. The National Register status of evaluated sites was discussed. Finally, each water storage alternative was evaluated in terms of its impact to cultural resources. Variables <lID Cultural Issues _.