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<br />. <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />vG~J47 <br /> <br />HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: THE ASPINALL UNIT <br /> <br />Created on April 11, 1956 the Colorado River Storage Project was built to provide for the <br />comprehensive development of the Upper Colorado River Basin by providing storage to <br />meet the flow obligation at Lees Ferry, Arizona, as provided by the Colorado River <br />Compact. Prom this project sprung the Wayne N. Aspinall Unit. <br /> <br />Three reservoirs, Blue Mesa, Morrow Point, and Crystal each named for their <br />corresponding dams on the Gunnison River form the Wayne N. Aspinall Unit. <br />Encompassing nearly 42,000 acres these reservoirs along with the Black Canyon provide <br />panoramic mesas, fjord-like reservoirs, and deep, steep and narrow canyons, that still, to <br />this day draw explorers and sightseers from all over the world. <br /> <br />Blue Mesa <br /> <br />Built in 1967 Blue Mesa Dam created the first of the three reservoirs, Blue Mesa <br />Reservoir. Covering 9,180 acres ofland and the ability to hold 940,800 acre-feet of <br />water makes Blue Mesa Colorado's largest body of water, as well as the largest Kokanee <br />Salmon fishery in the United States. Inside the dam are two 43,200-kilowatt generators, <br />which in fiscal year 2000 produced 279,384,222 kWh of electricity. Although Blue <br />Mesa Reservoir main tasks are the storage of water and production of electricity, other <br />activities such as boating and fishing also bring tourists numbering in the thousands <br />annually. <br /> <br />Morrow Point <br /> <br />Morrow Point Reservoir is the beginning of the Black Canyon ofthe Gunnison. Built in <br />1970 this thin-arch, double curvature dam, the first of its kind built by the Bureau of <br />Reclamation, has become the feature ofthe Colorado River Storage Project. With the <br />ability to store 117,190 acre-feet of water, its two 86,667 -kilowatt generators allowed the <br />Morrow Point Dam to produce 358,234,842 kWh worth of electricity during the fiscal <br />year 2000. <br /> <br />Crystal <br /> <br />The last of the three reservoirs, Crystal Reservoir is the smallest. With 22,500 acre-feet of <br />storage, and only a single 28,000 kW generator, it produced 182,026,166 kWh last fiscal <br />year. The reservoir located at the lower end of the Black Canyon is home to the <br />Gunnison Diversion Tunnel, a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. The <br />tunnel completed in 1909 was one ofthe first projects ofthe Reclamation Service, now <br />the Bureau of Reclamation. This six-mile tunnel allowed farmers to irrigate the arid <br />Uncompahgre Valley; the tunnel is still in use today. <br /> <br />4 <br />