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<br />Gunnison River Basin Facts <br /> <br />Colorado Water Conservation Board <br /> <br />Major tributaries to the Gunnison <br />River include the Uncompahgre, <br />Taylor, Slate, East, North Fork, and <br />Smith Fork Rivers; and Tomichi and <br />Cochetopa Creeks. This basin con- <br />tains large amounts of U.S. Bureau of <br />Land Management and Forest Service <br />lands. Agriculture is the dominant <br /> <br />wa~t.~f~.ce Water Diversions in Acre-feet by Use <br /> <br /> <br />s Sterling <br /> <br />S Greeley <br /> <br />S Denver <br /> <br />Burlingto~ <br /> <br />sColorado <br />Springs <br /> <br />s Pueblo <br />\'i) La Junta <br /> <br />Alamo<ia <br />s Durango <br /> <br />Overview <br /> <br />The Gunnison River Basin, encom- <br />passing 8,000 square miles, extends <br />from the continental divide to Grand <br />Junction where it joins the Colorado <br />River. The major water development <br />feature in the basin is the Aspinall <br />Unit of the Colorado River Storage <br />Project, consisting of Blue Mesa, <br />Crystal and Morrow Point Reservoirs. <br />The three reservoirs store approxi- <br />mately 1.1 million acre-feet. Develop- <br />ment of the basin yield is limited by <br />interstate compacts. Future develop- <br />ment will be limited by the Aspinall <br />Unit Section 7 Consultation. <br /> <br />Water Year 1998 <br /> <br /> <br />Water Year 1996 <br /> <br /> <br />The basin is comprised of portions <br />of seven counties in the southwest- <br />ern portion of the state. Between <br />1990 and 2000, the population in this <br />region increased by 35 percent and <br />now accounts for 1.8 percent of the <br />state's total population. The graph <br />below lists population for the <br />portions of the counties that are in <br />this basin. <br /> <br />March 2002 <br /> <br /> <br />Gunnison River (Photo courtesy of Holley Noon) <br /> <br />Growth <br /> <br />Major Water <br />Organizations <br /> <br />Water Conservation Districts <br />Colorado River <br /> <br />Water Conservancy Districts <br />Bostwick Park North Fork <br />Crawford Tri-County <br />Fruitland Mesa Upper Gunnison River <br />Grand Mesa <br /> <br />Other <br />Uncompahgre Valley Water Users <br />Association <br /> <br /> <br />Bill Owens <br />Governor <br /> <br />Greg Walcher <br />DNR Executive Director <br /> <br />Rod Kuharich <br />CWCB Director <br /> <br />Keith Catlin <br />CWCB Member, <br />Gunnison River Basin <br /> <br />30 <br /> <br />Gunnison River Basin Population by County <br /> <br />25 <br /> <br />Total Basin Population <br />April 1990 58,700 <br />April 2000 79,300 <br /> <br /> 1998 (AF) 1996 (AF) <br />D Irrigation 1,934,116 1,872,241 <br />. Storage 1,098,029 678,300 <br />D Municipal 14,357 16,918 <br />D Industrial 1,060 973 <br />. Commercial 0 2,577 <br />D Transbasin 366,158 501 <br />iii Stock 18,851 31 , 146 <br />DFish 161,304 208,420 <br />. Power 3,058,668 3,523,070 <br />Total 6,652,543 6,334,146 <br /> <br />a;- <br />c.. <br />g 20 <br />c. <br />o <br />o <br />o <br />~15 <br />c: <br />o <br />+:i <br />ra <br />:i 10 <br />c. <br />o <br />a. <br /> <br />Percent Growth = <br /> <br />35% <br /> <br />5 <br /> <br />o <br /> <br />l~ <br />OV <br /> <br />c~ <br />~Cj <br />~~ <br />o <br />Source: Colorado Department of Local Affairs <br /> <br />01Y0 <br />~~Cj <br /> <br />~rc <br />~0 <br /> <br />D 1990 .2000 <br /> <br />'$::-rc <br /><:)0 <br /> <br />~0 <br />~c <br />~c~ <br /> <br />~0 <br />~G <br />;:} <br />C;)rc<$ <br /> <br />Source: Division 4 and Division 7 Annual Reports to the State <br />Engineer <br /> <br />Additional information about this river basin is <br />available at http:j jcwcb.state.co.us <br />