FLOOD10384 ‎(2)‎

• County: Statewide
• Title: Natural Resources of Colorado
• Date: 1/1/1963
• Prepared By: US Department of the Interior
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Educational/Technical/Reference Information

In addition, the Colorado Water Conservation
Board works to appraise and inventory the
State's water resources and develop programs
for their conservation, utilization and control.

power Resources

Colorado River tributaries flowing down the
steep western slopes of the Rocky Mountains
that form the Continental Divide present many
favorable opportunities for hydroelectric power
development. Although large fuel deposits
are available in western Colorado, it has been
more economical to ins taIl hydroelectric rather
than fuel burning plants.
Hydroelectric powerplants constructed in
western Colorado as a part of Federal Reclama-
tion projects include the Green Mountain

a powerplant of 60,000 kilowatts, on the upper-
most Blue Mesa Dam, and the Morrow Point
Dam and Crystal Dam powerplantswith 120,000 .
kilowatts and 20,000 kilowatts respectively,
and the Rocky Mountain Power Co. power
development.
Hydroelectric powerplants constructed in east-
ern Colorado as a part of Federal Reclamation
projects include Estes, M..,rys Lake, Flatiron,
Pole HilI and Big Thompson powerplants of
the Colorado-Big Thompson project with a
total capacity of 162,350 kilowatts.

Production oj Electric Energy

Production of electric energy in Colorado in
1960amounred to 5,568,847,000 kilowatt-hours.
This amount was 1.5 times the production of
Powerplant of the Colorado Big Thompson

Vallecitto Dam, part of the Pine River Project, is one of many dams in Colorado which store water for a thriving
agricultural economy.

project with a capacity of 21,600 kilowatts,
the Grand VaIley Powerplant of the Grand
VaIley project with a capacity of 3,000 kilo-
watts, and the Upper and. Lower Molina Power-
plants of the CoIl bran project with combined
capacities of 13,500 kilowatts.
By far the largest Federal developments to be
constructed will be the three powerplants of
the authorized Curecanti Unit of the Colorado
River Storage project, on the Gunnison River-

kilowatt-hours in 1955, and three times the
production in 1950.
The ins taIled capacity of all hydroelectric
plants in the State in 1960 was 252,892 kilowatts,
2.8 times that in 1950.
Commensurate with the continued growth of
business in Colorado in general, the electric
utilities also have experienced an increase in
business. Additions to plants are being made
continusously.

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