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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />reservoir sedimentation, sediment transport modeling, regulatory and permitting <br />requirements, drainage basin erosion stabilization, land acquisition and dredging. <br /> <br />g. <br /> <br />Other Funding Sources - The North Fork Water Conservancy District and Fire Mountain <br />Canal and Reservoir Company are each contributing $5,000 to the project. The U.S. Bureau <br />of Reclamation has performed three sediment surveys since commissioning of the project, <br />with a present estimated dollar value of $14,000 per survey. It is anticipated that they will <br />continue to provide some survey and technical support services. The Colorado River Water <br />Conservation District has contributed $17,000 for previous studies and future financial, <br />political and technical support is expected from this agency. <br /> <br />h. <br /> <br />Financial Needs - No other funding sources have been pursued. <br /> <br />Meetine WHter Manaeement Goals and Ohjectives ~nd Identified W~ter Needs <br /> <br />1. Needs Assessment - The need for reservoir rehabilitation and maintenance is recognized in <br />the Gunnison Basin Roundtable (GBRT) needs assessment and the Paonia Reservoir <br />sedimentation problem is included specifically as an item (Category II, item No. 14) in <br />the GBRT needs assessment memorandum. The ultimate goal of the project is to maintain <br />existing storage capacity in Paonia Reservoir. <br /> <br />J. <br /> <br />SWSI Objectives and Gunnison Basin Round Table (GBRT) Needs Assessment: <br /> <br />1. Long term sustainability of the existing Paonia Reservoir storage volume is the <br />ultimate intent of the project. The proposed project is a major step toward implementing <br />capital and operational measures which will partially or fully mitigate the sedimentation <br />problem. <br /> <br />2. The Paonia project provides irrigation water to approximately 15,300 acres of unique <br />farmland in the North Fork Valley of the Gunnison. There are currently nearly 500 water <br />users who apply stored water from the subject reservoir to lands in the North Fork areas. <br />The project is intended to develop measures which will offset, abate or eliminate the <br />inevitable loss of that storage volume if no action is taken. <br /> <br />3. Optimization of existing and future water supplies includes sustaining existing <br />storage capacity that will otherwise be lost or that must be replaced with less effective <br />facilities at much greater cost and with greater environmental impacts. The Paonia reservoir <br />site is unique in its location in the Gunnison River basin (its service area and its tributary <br />basin area) and in its efficiency as a storage site. Therefore, it will not be possible to find an <br />equivalent replacement dam site. <br /> <br />4. By assuring the long term sustainability of Paonia Reservoir and the stable stream <br />flow that results from summer releases, recreational opportunities in the area are protected. <br />The ultimate outcome of the no-action alternative will be a reservoir basin fully filled with <br />sediment, land of questionable usefulness and complete loss of current recreational <br />opportunities associated with the reservoir and its storage releases. <br />