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<br />demands. It also has the lowest estimated life cycle cost and least cost per acre-foot of the <br />three alternatives (A, B and C) which meet the project purpose. <br /> <br />The pipeline route begins at the Jerry Creek Reservoirs and terminates at the Ute Water <br />Treatment Plant near Palisade as shown on Figure 1. The preliminary design in the EIS <br />includes 11.3 miles of 48-inch diameter pipe and 4.1 miles of 54-inch diameter pipe. The <br />final design may consist of either steel or ductile iron pipe. There are a total of 13 creek <br />crossings and a new, 3,250-foot long tunnel near the confluence of Plateau Creek and the <br />Colorado River. <br /> <br />The District anticipates a Record of Decision on the EIS and ROW permit application in <br />May 1998. Project design work would begin shortly thereafter. Construction is expected <br />to begin in early 1999 and will require about two years to complete. <br /> <br />Water Rights <br /> <br />The District has an extensive portfolio of water rights in the Plateau Creek and Rapid <br />Creek basins as well as on the Colorado River. The great majority of the yield on those <br />water rights is from the Plateau Creek Basin. The estimated yield of the District's water <br />rights to meet the year 2045 water demand is displayed in Table 4, which indicates that <br />all but 4,081 acre-feet (Colorado River and Rapid Creek supplies) would be supplied <br />from the Plateau Creek watershed and conveyed to the treatment plant by the Plateau <br />Creek Pipeline. <br /> <br />Table 4 - Estimated Year 2045 Yield by Source for Ute water Rights <br /> <br />Source A verage Supply <br /> (Acre-Feet per Year) <br />Mesa Creek 1,783 <br />Coon Creek 1,005 <br />Rapid Creek 219 <br />Big Creek 288 <br />Molina Tailrace 12,661 <br />Plateau Creek at Molina Tailrace 7,910 <br />Colorado River 3,862 <br />Jerry Creek Reservoirs 861 <br />Total 28,589 <br /> <br />Section 7 Consultation <br /> <br />As mentioned above, all of the alternatives would result in depletions to designated <br />critical habitat for endangered fish in the 15-Mile Reach Colorado River. During 1996, <br />BLM and the District participated in extensive consultations with the US Fish and <br />Wildlife Service to develop a mutually acceptable Reasonable and Prudent Alternative <br />(RP A) for the proposed project. <br /> <br />8 <br />