BOARD01744

• Board Meeting Date: 4/18/1958
• Description: Minutes and Resolution
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Meeting

932

The Bureau of Reclamation fully cooperated with the
Colorado Water Conservation Board and made studies of all
alternative dam sites which were.suggested. The principal
site that was studied as an alternate to the Narrows was the
so-called Fort Morgan site which is much nearer the town of
Fort Morgan than the Narrows site, but which was thought at
the time would result in the inundation of some 2,000 acres
of Weldona Valley less than would be inundated by the Narrows
Reservoir.

I

The Bureau of Reclamation brought the data on the Fort
Morgan dam site up to a basis comparable to the studies made
on'; the Narrows site. These detailed studies indicated that
the Narrows Reservoir would inundate only about 1000 acres
more of irrigated land than would be inundated by the Fort
Morgan site. The studies indicated that the seepage problems
resulting from the Fort Morgan site would be more critical
than those resulting from the Narrows site and that the Narrows
would cost about $2,000,000 less than the Fort Morgan dam and
reservoir.

The plan now proposed by the Bureau of Reclamation for
the Narrows is the construction of a dam and dikes across the
South Platte and across Bijou Creek having a total crest
length of 34,000 ft. and a maximum height above foundation of
147 ft. The river outlets and spillway would be constructed
on the north side of the river, the river outlets having a
capacity of about 4,000 c.f.s. and the capacity of the spillway
being about 19,300 c.f.s. A separate outlet conduit would be
provided for the existing Fort Morgan canal. The dam would
be located about 7-1/2 miles west of Fort Morgan. The total
storage capacity of the Narrows Reservoir would be 1,518,000
acre-feet, 818,000 acre-feet of which would be surcharge capa-
city used to fully capture and control the theoretical spillway
design flood; 250,000 acre-feet of the remaining 700,000 acre-
feet would be dedicated to the control of floods and, in.addi-
tion, 75,000 acre-feet would.be used jointly for irrigation
and flood control; the remaining.375,000 acre-feet would be for
regulatory purposes for the purpose of making some flood flows
which now cross the state line useable for irrigation, and the
making available for use in the state of 64,000 acre-feet of
Colorado-Big Thompson water which the Bureau of Reclamation
estimates will otherwise annually pass out of the state as
unused return flow principally during winter time.

It is asserted that the Narrows Reservoir project, if
built, would provide the following benefits:

1. Some flood control benefit to the Missouri River
Basin.

I

2. Flood control benefit to the South Platte Basin
in Colorado situated below the reservoir.