4000 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

il I I I ! /: II : . ! f The Upper Colorado River Basin is famed for its mag- nificent scenery. High mountains, deep canyons, towering buttes, and precipitous cliffs abound, but much of the land is unsuitable for agriculture. To irrigate the fertile lands along the valleys and benches of the upper basin, farmers discovered that often the only available water for irrigation flowed through canyons perhaps miles away. Construction of the necessary dams and canals to convey the water to the land was often beyond the financial Capability of the farmers. Growing cities too found that obtaining water for municipal and industrial purposes was often prohibitively expensive. The water users built those few projects they could afford; the more costly projects remained on the drawing boards. Now the Colorado River Storage Project is making these long-delayed projects possible. By the generation and sale of hydroelectric power at large main stream dams (called storage units), sufficient funds are available to help the water users pay for their smaller projects (called participat. ing projects). The principal powerplants are at dams at the Glen Canyon, Flaming Gorge, and Curecanti Units. These large dams also permit storage of excess flows during years of high runoff. The water in storage is released during years of low flow to meet specified water commitments to the lower basin states and thus free the smaller water use pro- jects from rigid water commitments. In addition to hydra. power and water storage, the CRSP controls sediment, helps abate floods, expands recreational possibilities, and aids in fish and wildlife conservation. The need for the Colorado River Storage Project was envisioned at the time of the Colorado River Compact of 1922. In dividing Colorado River water between the Upper r Central Utah Proiect is located in north.central Utah in areas both east and west of the Wasatch Mountains. The Bonneville Unit provides for a transbasin diversion of water from the headwaters of the Duchesne River in the Uinta Basin portion of the Colorado River Basin to the Bonneville Basin. Related developments of local water sources will be made in both basins. The project will develop water for irrigation, municipal and industrial use, power, recreation, fish and wildlife, flood control, water quality control. and area redevelopment. The part of the project that will serve the Uinta Basin is referred to as the Duchesne segment and the part that will serve the Bonne. ville Basin as the Bonneville segment. Duchesne Segment. - Starvation Reservoir, formed by a dam on the Strawberry River, receives most of its water from the Duchesne River diverted through a feeder canal. It also stores Strawberry River inflows below Strawberry Reservoir. The stored water is used to supplement existing irrigation supplies of Strawberry and Duchesne Rivers and to replace some 'JIBter presently used in the service areas of these rivers that will be diverted to the Bonneville Basin. Bonneville Segment - - Crossing the high flank of the Uinta Mountains, the Strawberry Aqueduct will collect the flows of Rock Creek and seven other streams tributary to Duchesne River. Water will flow by gravity through the aqueduct to the enlarged Strawberry Reservoir. Upper Stillwater Reservoir on Rock Creek and Currant Creek Reservoir on Currant Creek will serve as equalizing reser. voirs along the aqueduct. Strawberry Reservoir will be enlarged by the construction of Soldier Creek Dam on Strawberry River 7 miles downstream from the existing dam. Water in Strawberry Reservoir \(Viii be released to the 'Bonneville Basin through the Syar pressure tunnel which will replace the existing free-flow tunnel. From the tunnel the water will flow in succession through the Syar, Sixth Water, and Dyne Powerplants. Part of the power produced at these plants will be used for project pumping and the remainder will be distributed for commercial use over private and Federal transmission lines of the Colorado River Storage Project. Water released through the powerplants during the non- irrigation season will be stored in Hayes Reservoir on Dia- mond Fork, Utah lake, Mona Reservoir, and Sevier Bridge Reservoir. This storage water and water released through the powerplants during the irrigation season will be used primarily for irrigation in Utah, Juab, Sanpete, and Sevier Counties. Wasatch Aqueduct, Mona.Nephi Canal, and Nephi- Sevier Canal will be constructed to deliver the irrigation water. Mona Reservoir will be enlarged to about three times its present capacity. Provo Bay and Goshen Bay will be separated from the main body of Utah lake by dikes to conserve water presently lost through evapotranspiration. Lands of Provo Bay will be drained and reclaimed for agricultural purposes. A water fow) management area is planned for Gosh.~1} Bay area. Project water collected in Utah Lake will be exchanged upstream for Provo River water, which will be stored in Jordanelle Reservoir. Jordanelle Reservoir will be con- structed on the Provo River about 6 miles above Heber. Some water stored in this reservoir will be used for supple- mental irrigation in the vicinity of Heber, but most of the water will be used for municipal and industrial purposes in Utah and Salt Lake Counties. This water will be distribut- ed through the Jordan Aqueduct system. The Jensen Unit will be located in the northeastern corner of Utah in Uintah County. The unit will develop about 18,000 acre-feet of water annually for municipal and industrial purposes in Ashley Valley and 4,700 acre.feet annually for the irrigation of about 4,000 acres of land in the vicinity of Jensen. The unit will also benefit recreation, fish and wildlife, and flood control. Tyzack Reservoir on Brush Creek will store winter and high spring flows for municipal and industrial use. Tyzack Pumping Plant will pump water from Tyzack Reservoir into Tyzack Aqueduct which will extend to the existing Stelnaker Reservoir. A substantial portion of the industrial water will be used for phosphate development north of Vernal. Irrigation water will be pumped from Green River by the Burns Pumping Plant. The Uintah Unit will be located in Duchesne and Uintah Counties in northeastern Utah. It will increase usable irrigation supplies by an average of 52,000 acre-feet annually for about 53,000 acres of Indian and non-Indian owned land. An average of about 1.000 acre.feet of munici. pal and industrial water annually will also be made available in the vicinity of Roosevelt. Uinta Reservoir on Uinta River and Whiterocks Reser. voir on Whiterocks River will be the major project features. Fish and wildlife and recreational facilities will be provided and flood control benefits will be realized at both reservoirs. The Vernal Unit is located in Ashley Valley of the Uinta Basin in northeastern Utah. The unit provides an average of 18,000 acre.feet of supplemental irrigation water annually for about 15,000 acres of land. Also it provides an average of 1,600 acre-feet of municipal water annually for the communities of Vernal, Maeser, and Naples. Flows of Ashley Creek are diverted at Fort Thornburgh Diversion Dam through the Steinaker Feeder Canal for stor. age in Steinaker Reservoir. Irrigation water from the reservoir is delivered through the project Steinaker Service Canal to existing canals and distribution systems. Recreation and fish and wildlife facilities are provided at Steinaker Reservoir. The Upalco Unit will be located in Duchesne County, northeastern Utah, in the Uinta Basin. The unit will develop waters of lake Fork and Yellowstone Rivers for irrigation, recreation, fish and wildlife, and flood control. About 20,500 acre. feet of water will be provided for the sup. plemental irrigation of 46.000 acres of Indian and non- Indian owned land. FACTUAL and Lower Colorado River Basins, the compact set aside for consumption in the upper basin 7% million acre.feet of water each year. However, this allocation is contingent upon the upper basin's delivering to the lower basin not less than 75 million acre.feet of water in any period of 10 consecutive years and delivering additional water for use in Mexico under certain circumstances. The dividing point between the two basins is at Lees Ferry, near the northern border of Arizona. Water allocated to the upper basin was further apportioned to the individual States of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming by the Upper Colorado River Basin Compact of 1948. The Colorado River Storage Project was initially author- ized by Congress in 1956. The various CRSP developments authorized and their authorizing acts are listed below: Act of April 11, 1956 (Public Law 485, 84th Congress, 70 Stat. 105): Glen Canyon Unit, Ariz. and Utah Flaming Gorge Unit, Utah and Wyo. Navajo Unit, New Mex. and Colo. Curecanti Unit, Colo. Central Utah Project (initial phase), Utah Emery County Project, Utah Florida Project, Colo. Hammond Project, New Mex. Lyman Project, Wyo. Paonia Project, Colo. (works additional to existing project) Seedskadee Project, Wyo. Silt Project, Colo. PARTICIPATING Taskeech Reservoir will be constructed on lake Fork River about 6 miles downstream from the existing Moon Lake Dam. It will regulate flows of Lake Fork and flows of Yellowstone River diverted by the Taskeech Feeder Canal. Irrigation supplies will be released from the reservoir to Lake Fork River as needed. Water will be distributed from the river through existing canal systems and through the Tas- keech Service Canal which will extend to Yellowstone River. The Emery County Project is located in central Utah near the towns of Huntington, Castle Dale, and Orangeville. The project provides approximately 28,000 acre.feet of irri- gation water to about 18,000 acres of supplemental service land and about 800 acres of full service land. Recreational and fish and wildlife benefits are also provided. Storage regulation of local streamflows is provided at the Joes Valley Reservoir on Seeley Creek, a major tributary of Cottonwood Creek, and at the Huntington North Reser- voir just offstream from Huntington Creek. Water is dis. tributed for irrigation by the project Cottonwood Creek. Huntington Canal and existing canals and ditches. The Animas-La Plata Project will be located in south- western Colorado and northwestern New Mexico. The pro. ject will develop flows of the Animas and la Plata River systems for irrigation, municipal and industrial use, recre. ation, and fish and wildlife conservation. The project will provide irrigation service for 72,120 acres of land, including 46,250 acres of full service land and 25,600 acres of supple. mental service land. Municipal and industrial water will be provided for the communities of Durango. Colo.; Aztec and Farmington, N. Mex.; and future fuel-electric power develop- ments. Principal storage will be provided at Howardsville Re. servoir on the Animas River about 2 miles upstream from Silverton, Colo. Storage also will be provided in four smaller reservoirs. - the Hay Gulch, Ute Meadows, Three Buttes. and Animas Mountain. An extensive system of canals and laterals will be constructed for distribution of the water. The Dolores Project will be located in southwestern Colorado in Dolores and Montezuma Counties. The project will provide irrigation water for 28,660 acres of supplemental service land and 32,340 acres of full service land, including 1,500 acres of full service land in the Ute Mountain Indian Reservation. It will also provide 6,100 acre.feet of municipal and industrial water for the towns of Cortez and Dove Creek. Benefits will be provided for recreation. fish and wildlife, flood control, and water quality. Principal storage will be provided at McPhee Reservoir on the Dolores River adjacent to the town of Dolores. Supplemental storage will be provided at the smaller Cahone, Monument Creek, and Ruin Canyon Reservoirs. An extensive system of canals will he co,nstructed to distribute water from the reservoirs. The Florida Project is located in southwestern Colorado in La Plata County near the city of Durango. The project provides irrigation water for 19,450 acres of land, including a supplemental supply for 13,720 acres and a full supply for 5,730 acres. The project also provides fishing and reo creational opportunities and decreases flood damage along the Florida River. The principal project feature is Lemon Reservoir on the Florida River. The project also includes enlargement of the Florida Farmers Ditch, the Florida Canal, the Florida Farmers Ditch Diversion Dam, and an extensive lateral system. The San Miguel Proiect will be located in southwestern Colorado in Montrose and San Miguel Counties. The project will provide irrigation water for 26,420 acres of full service land and 12,530 acres of supplemental servic~ land. It will provide a firm supply of 44,000 acre.feet for municipal and industrial purposes. Benefits also will be realized from fish and wildlife, recreation, and flood control. Primary regulation of the San Miguel River will be provided by Saltado Reservoir on the main stem of the river 12 miles southeast of the town of Norwood. Colo. Some water will be released from the reservoir to the river for existing and project uses. The remainder will be conveyed westward from the reservoir in a chain of project facilities. This chain will include in successive order the Norwood Canal, Naturita Reservoir, Basin Canal, Radium Reservoir, and the Paradox Canal heading on the stream channel below Radium Reservoir. The Mailbox Canal will branch north- west from the Norwood Canal and the Long Park Lateral will branch from the Paradox Canal. Existing reservoirs and distribution systems will be integrated with the project system and exchanges effected to bring project water to lands above project works. The Bostwick Park Proiect is located in Montrose and Gunnison Counties in west.central Colorado about 10 miles east of Montrose. Unused flows of Cimarron Creek, a tribu. tary of the Gunnison River. are being developed for irrigation, recreation, and sport fishery enhancement. The project will provide irrigation water for about 1,600 acres of full service land and 4,500 acres of supplemental service land. Storage regulation will be provided by the Silver Jack Reservoir under construction on Cimarron Creek. Project water will be diverted from the creek into the existing Cimarron Canal. Some project water will be released to project lands along the canal but most of it will be distributed by the existing Vernal Mesa and Hairpin Ditches which head at the canal terminus. A pipe section of the Vernal Mesa Ditch wilt be replaced and the lytle and Bostwick Laterals will be constructed to convey water from the ditch to lands that are above those presently irrigated. DATA Smith Fork Project, Colo. La Barge Project, Wyo. (indefinitely deferred) Act of June 13. 1964 (78 Stat. 852): Bostwick Park Project, Colo. Fruitland Mesa Project, Colo. Savery-Pot Hook Project, Cola. Act of Septemhe, 30, 1968 182 Stat. 885): Animas.La Plata Project, Colo.-New Mex. Dallas Creek Project, Colo. Dolores Project, Colo. San Miguel Project, Colo. West Divide Project, Colo. Uintah Unit, Utah (construction contingent on finding of physical and financial feasibility) The Eden Project in Wyoming, although not a participating project, shares in the revenues from the Colorado River Storage Project. Glen Canyon Storage Unit Glen Canyon Reservoir and Powerplant are in northern Arizona on the Colorado River, 12.4 miles downstream from the Utah-Arizona State line and 15.3 miles upstream from Lees Ferry. They comprise the key storage unit of the Colorado River Storage Project, providing about 80 percent of both the storage and generating capacity. The concrete arch dam is 710 feet high, the second highest dam in the United States. The reservoir, Lake Powell. has a capacity of 27 million acre.feet and, when filled, will extend 186 miles upstream on the Colorado River and 71 miles on the PROJECTS The Dallas Creek Project will be located in west.central Colorado along the Uncompahgre River between the towns of Ouray and Delta. The project will develop water of the Uncompahgre River and tributaries for irrigation and muni. cipal and industrial use. It also VIiI! provide benefits for recreation, fish and wildlife, and flood control. The project municipal and industrial water supply will average about 15,000 acre-feet annually. The irrigation supply, averaging 60,300 acre-feet annually, will be us.ed on about 14,900 acres of full service land and 8,700 acres of supplemental service land. The project plan includes the construction of three storage reservoirs - - the Ridgway on the Uncompahgre River and Dallas Creek, the Dallas Divide on Pleasant Valley Creek, and the Sneva offstream from Cow Creek. In addition to natural flows at the sites, the Ridgway Reservoir will store flows of Cow Creek diverted by feeder canal and the Dallas Divide Reservoir will store flows of the East and West Forks of Dallas Creek diverted by feeder canal. Sneva Reservoir will be fed by an existing ditch from Cow Creek. Irrigation water will be distributed by the project McKenzie Canal which will be supplied by the Ridgway Pumping Plant below Ridgway Reservoir, the Pleasant Valley and Log Hill Mesa Canals which will distribute water from Dallas Divide Reservoir, and Sneva Outlet Canal which will dis- tribute water from Sneva Reservoir. Municipal and industrial water will be delivered to water users at Ridgway Reservoir. The Fruitland Mesa Proiect will be located in the Gunnison River Basin in west.central Colorado just north of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument. The project will benefit irrigation, fish and wildlife, and recreation. Irrigation water will be provided for about 15,900 acres of full service land and 7,000 acres of supplemental service land. The project will utilize water from Soap, Curecanti and Crystal Creeks - - all tributaries of Gunnison River. Soap Creek flows will be regulated at Soap Park Reservoir on Soap Creek and conveyed to Crystal Creek by the Black Mesa Conduit. Natural flows of Curecanti Creek also will be intercepted and diverted into the conduit. Releases from the Black Mesa Conduit along with flows of Crystal Creek will be diverted into the existing Crystal Valley Ditch and the potential Fruitland Canal. Three major turnouts will be made from the canal to existing distribution facilities including (1) Cattlemens Ditch, (2) Gould Feeder Canal, and (3) Castle Canyon, a natural chan. nel. Part of the Gould Canal will be enlarged by the canal owners and some structures will be replaced as part of the project. The existing Gould Reservoir will provide regu- lation of project water delivered to it by the Gould Feeder Canal. A pipeline will be constructed by the National Park Service to convey water from the Fruitland Canal for public use at the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument. The Paonl<> ?r<liei:1. Is lOcated in wast_gentra! Colorado in the vicinity of Paonia and Hotchkiss. It provides benefits to irrigation, flood control, recreation and fish and wildlife. The project assures supplemental water for 13,000 acres of land already irrigated and a full water supply for 2,230 acres of new land. Paonia Reservoir on Muddy Creek, a tributary of the North Fork of the Gunnison River, regulates runoff for irrigation of lands under the Fire Mountain Canal which diverts from the river. The Fire Mountain Canal has been enlarged and extended as a part of project development. Some water from Leroux Creek that was previously used on lands under the Fire Mountain Canal and its extension have been transferred to lands above the canal. The - Savery-Pot Hook Proiect will be IQeated in north- western Colorado and southern Wyoming in the Little Snake River Basin near Baggs. Wyoming. Unused flows of Little Snake River and its tributaries, Savery Creek from the north and Slater Creek from the south, will be developed for irrigation, recreation, and fish and wildlife propagation. The project water supply will permit crop production on about 18,000 acres of newly irrigated land and im. proved production on about 14,300 acres of presently irrigated land. Storage regulation will be provided in Wyo- ming at Savery Reservoir on Savery Creek and in Colorado at Pot Hook Reservoir on Slater Creek. Rereased storage water along with usable natural flows and return flows will be diverted by existing and new canals. The principal project canals will be the Dolan Mesa Canal heading on Savery Creek and the Pot Hook Canal heading at the Pot Hook Reservoir. The Silt Proiect is near the towns of Rifle and Silt in Garfield County, west-central Colorado. The project provides benefits to irrigation, recreation, and fish and wild. life. It supplies full irrigation service for about 2,000 acres of land and supplemental service for about 4,500 acres. The project includes regulation of flow of Rifle Creek at Rifle Gap Reservoir on the creek and pumping from the Colorado River by the Silt Pumping Plant. Part of the stored water replaces natural flows presently used on lands below the reservoir and permits diversions from East Rifle Creek above the reservoir. The project distribution works include the reconstructed Davie Ditch, rehabilitated Grass Valley Canal, and newly constructed Silt Pump Canal. The Smith Fork Project is located in west.central Colorado along Smith Fork of the Gunnison River in the vicinity of Crawford and 73 miles southeast of Grand Junction. The project provides benefits for irrigation, re- creation, and fish and wildlife. The project water supply permits new irrigation of about 1,300 acres and supple. mental irrigation of about 7,000 acres. San Juan River. The powerplant has eight generating units with a total installed capacity of 900,000 kilowatts. Flaming Gorge Storage Unit Framing Gorge Reservoir and Powerplant are located on the Green River in northeastern Utah, about 32 river miles downstream from the Utah-Wyoming State line. The dam is a concrete thin.arch structure rising 502 feet above bed- rock. The reservoir has a capacity of 3,789,000 acre.feet and, when full, extends upstream 91 miles or nearly to the town of Green River, Wyo. The powerplant has an installed generating capacity of 108,000 kilowatts. Navajo Storage Unit The Navajo Unit includes only the Navajo Reservoir in northwestern New Mexico on the San Juan River, 34 miles east of Farmington. The dam is a zoned earth.fill embank. ment, 405 feet high. The reservoir has a capacity of 1,709,000 acre.feet. Curecanti Storage Unit Curecanti Storage Unit includes three major reservoirs and powerplants along a 40.mile canyon of the Gunnison River downstream from Gunnison, Colo., and upstream from the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument. In downstream order the features include Blue Mesa with a reservoir of 940,800 acre-feet and a plant capacity of 60,000 kilowatts, Morrow Point with a reservoir of 117.900 acre. feet and a plant capacity of 120,000 kilowatts, and Crystal with a reservoir of 27,000 acre-feet and a plant capacity of 28,000 kilowatts. ;. ,~ d ~' . lj .,., ~:j i ~. ~~ Crawford Reservoir on Iron Creek regulates surplus flows of Iron Creek and surplus flows of Smith Fork di- verted to the reservoir by feeder canal. Water is released from the reservoir by feeder canal. Water is released from the reservoir into the Aspen Canal and conveyed by the canal to existing ditches for distribution. Some of the water replaces direct flow diversions from Smith Fork, thus permitting additional direct flow to be used in the Upper Smith Fork Basin by exchange. The West Divide Project will be located in west-central Colorado south of the Colorado River between the communi. ties of Glenwood Springs and DeBeque. The project will provide water for irrigation and municipal and industrial use and will benefit recreation, fish and wildlife, and flood control. The municipal and industrial water supply made available by the project will average about 77,500 acre-feet annually. The irrigation water supply will average 115,600 acre-feet annually and will be used on about 18,900 acres not presently irrigated and about 21,000 acres in need of supplemental supplies. The plan for the project includes three reservoirs - - the Placita Reservoir on Crystal River, Yank Creek Reservoir on North Thompson Creek, and Haystack Reservoir on Wil- low Creek and West Willow Creek. In addition to stream. flows at the site, Haystack Reservoir will store water con. veyed by feeder canal from nearby streams. Irrigation water will be distributed by several project canals including the Huntsman, East and West Divide, and Fourmile Canals. Mu. nicipal and industrial water will be made available for sale in the Colorado River and in the West Divide and Fourmile Canals. The Fryingpan-Arkansas Project is not a full-fledged par- ticipating project of the Colorado River Project because it does not participate in the revenues of the storage project. It does, however, use Colorado River water apportioned by compact to the Upper Basin and to the State of Colorado. Approximately 70,000 acre-feet of water a year is conveyed in a transmountain diversion from the Fryingpan River in the Colorado River Basin to the Arkansas River Basin. The Hammond Project is located in northwestern New Mexico and lies across the San Juan River from the towns of Blanco, Bloomfield, and Farmington. The project pro- vides irrigation water for about 3,900 acres of land. The water is obtained primarily from natural streamflow in the San Juan River. Supplemental water is obtained from the Navajo Reservoir constructed on the river as a feature of the Colorado River Storage Project. Water is diverted from the river to the Hammond Main Canal. Some of the supply is pumped from the canal for distribution by laterals at higher elevations. The San Juan-Chama Project is located in Rio Arriba, Taos, and Santa Fe Counties in north-central New Mexico. The project facilities provide for transmountain diversion of about 110,000 acre-feet of water from the upper tributaries of the San Juan River for utilization in the Rio Grande Basin in New Mexico. The project will provide a full irrigation water supply for 39,330 acres and supplemental water for 81,610 acres. It will also divert 53,200 acre-feet, of water_ annually for municipal and industrial uses. Benefits will be realized from irrigation, industrial use, recreation, flood control, and fish and wildlife. The Navaio Indian Irrigation Project is located in Rio Arriba and San Juan Counties in northern New Mexico. Under this,Project 110,630 acres of Navajo Reservation lands will be developed and irrigated, providing farms for 1,120 Navajo families and giving a livelihood and related service activities to another 2,240 families. The project utilizes storage in the Navajo Reservoir. Principal features will in- clude the canal headworks at Navajo Dam, 152 miles of main canal, two pumping plants, a hydroelectric powerplant with a 15,OOO-kw capacity to furnish energy for the pumping plants, a lateral system. and a drainage system. The Lyman Project is located in Bridger Valley in southwestern Wyoming, south of the confluence of the Blacks Fork and Smiths Fork Rivers. The project includes two features - - the Meeks Cabin Reservoir on the Blacks Fork River and the China Meadows Reservoir on the East Fork of Smiths Fork. The project will provide late season supplemental irriga. tion water to 42,674 acres of existing farm land. Fish and wildlife and recreational benefits also will be provided. ~. The Seedskadee Proiect is located in the Upper Green River Basin in southwestern Wyoming north of Green River. The project will provide irrigation water for about 58,000 acres of land along both sides of the Green River and on both sides of Big Sandy Creek near the creek's cOnfluence with the Green River. The Fontenelle Reservoir has been constructed on the Green River and provides diversion works for canals on both abutments. The West Side Canal will extend from the west abutment, and the Big Sandy Canal from the east abutment. The East Side Canal will branch from the Big Sandy Canal. A