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<br />The Rio Grande produces ail average of 1,550,000 acre-feet, of which
<br />1,070,000 acre-feet are consumed witilin the State.
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<br />The North Platte, River produces an average of 700,000 acre-feet" of
<br />which,125,000 acre-feet are consumed within tile State,
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<br />The South Platte River Produces an average of 1,650,000 acre-feet, of
<br />of which 1,350,000 acre-feet are consumed within the State.
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<br />A minor watershed 01: the Kansas River produces approximately 200,000
<br />acre-feet, of ~lhich about 10,000 ~cre-feet are consumed in the State.
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<br />Colorado River and its many tributaries prOduce an aveI:l\ge df
<br />11,960,000 acre-feet a year or about 70 percent of the total water pro-
<br />duced in the State, of which 4,760,000 acre-feet are, cODBUIII8dwithin the
<br />State.
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<br />There is a great shortage of water on tile Eastern Slope' of our State
<br />to meet present and future requirements. At the present time, there are
<br />thirty transmountain diversion projects, practically all of which divert
<br />water out of the Colorado River J.lasin into the Arkansas, Rio Grande and
<br />South Platte River Basins for the purpose of supplementing the water sup-
<br />plies of those basins. The oJd est of these transmountain diversions i,s
<br />the Ewing Placer Ditch which diverts water from the Colorado River Basin
<br />to the 'Arkansas River Basin.
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<br />The principal transmountain diversion projects consist of the Laramie-
<br />Poudre Tunnel, Grand River Ditch, Skyline Ditch, Independence Pass 'i.'>.1Il1lel
<br />and the .Moffat and Jones ,Pass T\umels owned by the City of Denver.
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<br />These translllOuntain projects divert on the average, about 133,770
<br />acre-feet per year, wbichie but a fraction of what it will be ~ossible to
<br />divert when all the transmountain diversion projects now under construc-
<br />tion or consideration have been completed. The largeet tran8lliountain
<br />diversion project, now nearing completion, is the Colorado-Big Thompson
<br />Project which is designed to divert, from the Colorado River into thl! South
<br />Platte River Basin, approximately 300,000 acrs-:feet of water per year.
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<br />The City of Denv~r is engaged in driving a 23-mile tunnel to divert
<br />about 200,000 acre-feet of water per year out of the Colorado River Basin
<br />into the Soutil Platte River Basin above Denver.
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<br />The Bureau of Reclamation is making studies todetermine the feasibil-
<br />ityarid cost of diverting approXimately 500,000 acre-feet of water from
<br />the Colorado and Gunnison River basins to the Arkansas River basin to
<br />supply present, and future needs in that basin.
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<br />These projects are, and will be very costly. Their economic jv.sti-
<br />f1cation will depend upon their al:!ility to reimburse the costs thereof not
<br />only through the eale of water to the water users but also through the sale
<br />of hydro-electric energy.
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<br />A law enacted in 1917 prohibits the diversion of water out of Colorado
<br />for use in another State. This ~equirement may be corrected only by ,
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