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<br />
<br />ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
<br />
<br />Thc Sacramento District, Corps of
<br />Engineers, l("ratdully acknowledges the
<br />assistance and cooperation of the "Fruita
<br />Times." the "Grand Yalley Gazette," the town
<br />of Fruita, the Mesa Count)' Planning Commis.
<br />sion, other Mesa County agencies, the
<br />Colorado Department of Highw3,\'s, the
<br />
<br />ColoradoWaterCon~ervationBoard,theU.S.
<br />Bureau of Land Managemcnt, the U.S.
<br />Department of Agriculture, the U.S.
<br />Geological Su,'ve)",andotherswhodireetlyor
<br />indireellyaidedinthep"eparationofthis
<br />report.
<br />
<br />BACKGROUND INFORMATION
<br />
<br />DESCRIPTION OF THE STUDY
<br />AREA
<br />
<br />Fruita is situated in the middle western
<br />part of Colorado about 15 miles cast of the
<br />Utah state line in a part of the state known as
<br />Grand Valley. The town lies at fln elevation of
<br />about 4500 fect in the southern part of the
<br />valley. To the north. the valley gradually
<br />slopcsupward for several mill'S to the base of
<br />the Book Cliffs. which ri~ abruptly to more
<br />than 8000 fcct. About two miles south of town,
<br />the stecp, sandstone andshalc formations of
<br />the Colorado National Monument begin,
<br />William E. Pabor, one of Horace Greeley's
<br />lieutenantS,settloointheareainl8.R2anrl
<br />laidouttheoriginaltown.Fromitsbcginning,
<br />Fruita has been agriculturally oriented.
<br />Orchard~ of many varieties were started by
<br />the early scttlers and SOme scatteroo acreage
<br />i, still dewted to fruit production. Sligar beet
<br />
<br />cultivation and proeessingstartedaround
<br />1894 and was an essential part of the arca's
<br />economy until about 1929. Farming is now
<br />moredi,'e"sificd with some of the main crops
<br />being grain, for livestock feed and ,'arious
<br />froits and vcl<etables. Cattle and sheep
<br />ranching began as largescaleo\l€rfltions
<br />lIround 1904,ducin part to an abundanccof
<br />beet top,s and pulp, valuable sugar beet
<br />proccssinll"by.produetsusedasfeedforthosc
<br />animals. At presenl. farming and sOme fruit
<br />production and livestock raising form the
<br />pc'm'lmic base of thc comnmnitJ'. There ure
<br />extensive irrigation facilitie5 in the arca to
<br />support th(>Se activities, The population is
<br />presently about 1900. Grand Junction, the
<br />larjl."est city between Denver and Salt Lake
<br />City, is 10 miles to the east.
<br />
<br />DRAINAGE AREA
<br />Thc Colm'ado Rivcr riscs high inthc Rock)'
<br />Moontains on the western slope of the Con.
<br />tinentalDivide.Theriverflowssouthwcsterly
<br />from its headwatcrrrginn't'lthevieinit)'of
<br />Grand Junction where it turns to the
<br />northwest through the study area and for
<br />
<br />most of its remaining C{lurse in Colorado.
<br />Reed, Big Salt, and Little Salt Washes rise
<br />north of Fruita in the Book Cliffs and Roan
<br />f'latea'J. Thc drainage arcas of the streams
<br />under studr and the elevations of their
<br />headwatn areas are shown in Table 2.
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<br />TABLE 2
<br />
<br />DRAINAGE AREAS AND
<br />HEADWATER ELEVATIONS
<br />
<br />Stream
<br />
<br /> ApproxImate
<br /> Approxlmale Elevation 01
<br />LQCatlon DraInage Arca Headwater Area
<br /> 5'l.ml. H.(ms1)
<br />Gaging Station 17,100 12.000
<br />{near Fruita)
<br />Gaging Station 3D 4,700
<br />(near Loma)
<br />Gaging Station 116 8.000
<br />(at Fruitfl)
<br />At Grand YalleyCanal " 5,100
<br />
<br />Colorado River
<br />
<br />Reed Wash
<br />
<br />Big Salt Wash
<br />
<br />Little Salt Wash
<br />
<br />Climate of the area is arid to semiarid with
<br />rearlypreeipitation averaging about 8 inches
<br />at Fruita, about 20 inches in the headwater
<br />areas of th~ tributary washes, and about 40
<br />in~hes in the headwater regions of the
<br />Colorado RiVer. Most of the annual precipita-
<br />tion in the higher elevations occurs as Snow
<br />and a deop snowpack flecumulatC5.
<br />Temperatures are often in the 90's in the
<br />summer and below freezing in the winter.
<br />Extreme temperatures have ranged from a
<br />summertime high of 108' to a winter low of
<br />
<br />_34'.Nativevcgctationintheval1eyconsisl~of
<br />cottonwood and willow, desert sbrub suehas
<br />winterfat and sagebrush, and an understory
<br />of hardy p;rasses. Dig sagebrush, pinon pine,
<br />juniper, oak, serviee herry, and Douglas Fir
<br />are prominent in the 5000 to 8000 foot
<br />ele,'ations. Veg~tation from 8000 feet to
<br />timberline consists malOly of lodgepole pine,
<br />Englemen spruce, sub-alpine fir, and flspen.
<br />A1plncwillow, grasscs, and sedgesoxistabovc
<br />timberline.
<br />
<br />NATURE OF FLOOD PROBLEMS
<br />The principal cause offloading along the
<br />Colorado River in the study area is rapidly
<br />melting snow. Flooding is most severe when
<br />snowmelt is augmented by rain. General
<br />rainstorms can occur in the region during
<br />
<br />spriog and SUmmer. Conveetive typc cloud.
<br />hurst storms of small areal extent, whieh
<br />account for about half of the normal annual
<br />precipitfltioninthcF"roitaaroa,ar.,cumtHorl
<br />occurrences in late summer and early fall.
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