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<br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />In 1974 and 1975, the Soil Conservation Service (SCS) studied the enlargement of the dam and <br />recommended raising the dam 19 feet to store a total of 2,600 acre-feet. SCS conducted <br />geotechnical evaluations of the dam and foundation which are referred to frequently in this <br />report. SCS also developed data on the irrigated area and environmental impacts that are used in <br />this report. <br /> <br />The Red Mesa Reservoir enlargement was included in the "Small Dam Site Reconnaissance <br />Study" prepared for the CWCB in February, 1994. This study concluded that the enlargement <br />.might be feasible and suggested that further evaluations of the site be made. As a result of that <br />recommendation, the Company applied for and received funding from the CWCB to prepare this <br />report. <br /> <br />5.0 Study Area Description <br />The Red Mesa Ward Reservoir and Ditch Company facilities and land served are located in <br />LaPlata County in southwestern Colorado approximately 26 miles southwest of Durango. Red <br />Mesa Reservoir is located near the mouth of Hay Gulch a tributary of the LaPlata River. The <br />lands served by the reservoir are located directly south of the reservoir and mostly north of the <br />small unincorporated town of Red Mesa about 8 miles north of the Colorado-New Mexico <br />stateline. Refer to Figure 1. <br /> <br />The irrigated area is a rolling mesa top ranging in elevation from 6,100 to 6,900 feet in elevation. <br />The vegetation on rangeland and graze-able woodland is characterized by pinion-juniper and <br />sagebrush. The predominant grasses are western wheatgrass, Indian ricegrass, galleta, blue <br />grama, squirreItail, and needle-and-thread. <br /> <br />The climate is semi-arid, with an average annual precipitation of 18.0 inches. Most of the <br />moisture comes in the form of late summer rains and snowmelt. The annual mean temperature is <br />46 degrees F. The average growing season is 133 days. <br /> <br />The economy in and around the Red Mesa Reservoir service area is agricultural. There are <br />however, many people who live in the area but work in Durango or Farmington, New Mexico in <br />nonagricultural jobs. Though these people comprise most of the population in the area, farming <br />is the predominant activity and land use. The enlargement of Red Mesa Reservoir would provide <br />additional irrigation water to further stabilize the agricultural economy and would provide <br />domestic water for the non-farmers who want to live in the area. <br /> <br />9 <br />