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<br />In <br />en <br />~ <br />..-; <br /> <br />Present Water Use <br /> <br />Irrigated lands in this subbasin are scattered along the main watercourses <br />and are generally supplied by small individual irrigation systems. The <br />largest block of irrigated land is located in the Kahnah Creek basin near <br />the community of Whitewater at the northeast end of the subbasin. There are <br />several separate farms located on isolated tracts within the Whitewater <br />Canyon of the Gunnison River. In general, farms contiguous to the main <br />river draw water supplies from the river rather than from the contributing <br />areas. The remainder of the farms, located in the valleys of the principal <br />tributary drainages, have somewhat less adequate water supplies available <br />to them because of the wider fluctuations in flow which occur in the <br />tributary drainages. Essentially, all of the suitable land has already <br />been developed for farming. There are some additional scattered tracts <br />of land 'which would be suitable for irrigation but the cost of providing <br />the necessary water supplies has so far prevented their development. <br /> <br />The present water-supply depletions in the subbasin are summarized in <br />table 38. <br /> <br />Table 38.- Present water use, Whitewater Subbasin, 1943-60 average <br /> <br />Net crop consumptive use 1/ <br /> <br />7,909 acre-feet <br /> <br />Riparian vegetation, nonbeneficial <br />phreatophytes, seeped lands and <br />inCidental areas <br /> <br />9,205 acre-feet <br /> <br />Municipal supply exported from area to <br />city of Grand Junction and town of Fruita <br /> <br />6,064 acre-feet <br /> <br />Other municipal, domestic and livestock <br />use and evaporation <br /> <br />1,844 acre-feet <br /> <br />1943-60 average annual use within <br />subbasin <br /> <br />25,022 acre-feet <br /> <br />1/ 5,800 acres. <br /> <br />Agricultural Economy <br /> <br />The Whitewater subbasin comprises only 2 percent of the irrigated acreage <br />in the Gunnison River Basin. The agricultural economy of the subbasin <br />is very similar to that of the North Fork subbasin. However, average <br />sales from livestock and livestock products exceed average fruit sales, <br />which is just the reverse of North Fork subbasin. <br /> <br />Some areas along the Gunnison River and its tributaries are well adapted <br />to fruit production because of good air drainage and a relatively long, <br />frost-free season. Areas not adapted to fruit production are used for the <br />production of livestock feeds. <br /> <br />- 94 - <br />