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<br /> <br />Plan <br />Jof Proiect <br /> <br />The Fryingoan-Arkansas Project is a seif-col"'tained reclamation proj- <br />ect for tre ccl!ecticn and transrr::lc.mtair d;\.ersi:)~ cf 69. ~ 00 acre <br />feet of water hor; the Frvin00ar. and Ocher ~ribu~aries of the <br />Roarirc Fork River in \Vestern Cobrado to the Arkansas River in East- <br />ern Cofora&~. <br /> <br />It is a ~n.:e conservation croiect desianed to fullv Jti!ize the diverted <br />water, to capture intermit~e!"t fk:~:d ~fcws and st;)re some winter flows <br />that are not of much va!ue ~c aaricu!ture Be~ter ;Jtilizat:2!" reQ",!ation and add,tier-a! storage <br />will be accomplished tl;r~ugh c~nstructicn of prcject features,- <br /> <br />Waters te be diverted to the Arkansas Va!ley originate from melting snows on the high <br />mountains barderil"g the Roarirg Fork and Fryingoan R.ivers. Numerous tributary streams <br />above 10,000 feet would be taDDed and the wa~e- ccliecteG in a system 01: abcut 70 miles of <br />canals and tunnels. Water so collected would t~en be broucht to the easteir' slcce bv means <br />of a tunnel six miles in length piercing the Continental Divide. . . <br /> <br />The plan calls for the construction of two new reservcirs--one for storaoe at an altitude <br />of 7,800 feet on western slcDe just above the t::cwn of Basalt en the Frvinopa'1 River, with a <br />storage capacity of about 100,000 acre-feet, wil! Dfcvide water fOr replacement and other <br />uses on the western slcpe. . <br /> <br />The en1araemel"'t of the existil"'o TLiraucise and Twin Lakes Reservoirs and the Con- <br />struction O'f Pueblo Reservcir will provide' a to-:-a! eastern s!ope storage cacac;ty of 777,000 <br />acre-feet. <br /> <br />A power system consistino of about 52 r'Y'i!es of canals Iccated at eievations below 9.500 <br />feet-7 p:)\~er plants having a total ir's~alled cDacitv of 123.900 K;!=,watts. Ti,e tetal power <br />generation is over 500 million KVJ hours <br /> <br />Feasibility <br />of Project <br /> <br />Mr. Rovce J. Tipton of Denver, a ccns;,.;iting engineer of rational <br />a!'1d internati2r.a! reDutaticn, made this staterr-e",t bekre ~he House <br />Comrrittee, <br /> <br />..............-.-~, <br />liMy conclusion is, after having been intimately identified with the ' - <br />evolution of the project as a member of the Engineering Advisory Ccm- -::>~.;...~ <br />mittee of the Policv and Review Committee. that the Draiect is well ~ -~_ _-;....._ _ <br />conceived from an er.gineering stardpoint, and that it will provide the _ _~~. <br />maximum Dossible ber-efits from t!,e water sl<oplies made available ~~~ . - <br />by it. Frcm'the standpoint of need ror the project, and the engineering ~~- <br />feasibility of it, I strengly urge its authorization." ~~..:- = <br /> <br />The Bureau of Reclamation declares the Project to be entirely feasible with a benefit-to-cost <br />ratio cf 1.52 - S 152 return for every S 1.00 invested. <br /> <br />After exhaustive studies of the Preiect, it was ac,ycved as feasible by the Colorado \Vater <br />Conservation Board, the state agency charged with p'otecting and preserving Colorado wa- <br />ter resources. <br /> <br />The Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District encompassing the project area was <br />formed in 1958 to act as the legal entity in sponsoring the Fryingpan Project and to nego- <br />tiate contracts for repayment of the project costs. <br />