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that any main stem reservoir with suffi~lent capacity to prop~rly regulate large f loodswould inundate latge acreages of valuable valley farmland and require expensive highway ~nd rai Iroad relocations. The addition of conservation storage for irrigation and water supply could not be justified because these needs wi:11 be satisfied to. all practical I imits by the authorized Pueblo Reservoir. Furthermore, since any reservo i r wou I d be empty or near I y so a, large share of the time, hydro- electric power production would not be ,feasible. 47. The possibi lities of constructing multiple-purpose reservoirs on the tributaries,which join the Arkansas River between the Pueblo dam site and Las Animas also were studied.' It was determined that none would be economically justified. There are eight principal tributaries entering the Arkansas River within this reach. The largest of these, in terms of contributing drainage areas, are the Huerfano and Aplshapa Rivers and Horse Creek. Dams constructed on these three tributaries near the i r conf I uence wi ththe Arkansa$ River wou I d contro I about 45 percent of the contr I but i ng dra i nage atea and reduce the flood potel\- tial at Las Animas to tolerable I imlts:. However, the flood control benefits would be derived principally from the reduction of damages along the Arkansas River and would be insufficient to support the cost of the reservoirs. Storage for other purposes, including irri-. gation, water supply, power, and recre;ation would not be feasible for the same reasons which preclude main stem reservoir development. . 48. The comprehensive basin pla~ for water resources development along the main stem of the Arkansas River below Pueblo Includes local protection projects at Las Animas andiLa Junta, and a major drainage and flood control project extending ff;om Pueblo downstream to the Colo.-Kans. State line. The major dr~inage and flood control phase of the basin plan comprises a system of seven major drainage outlets with closed and open farm drains discharging Into the major draLns, and intermittent riverside levees and. revetment works to protect the drained lands and certain other lands'within the reach. The plan as envisioned Includes a levee section Oh the right bank for the protec- tion of Las Animas and vicinity. This levee section is almost identical to the levees which constitute the major element of the l.as Animas Local Protection Project reco~ended herein. Studies made In connection with this report prove that the Las Animas Local Protection Project can be constructed as an ind~pendent element of thecompre- hensive plan for the development of water resources in the Colorado portion of the Arkansas River Basin. , LAS ANIMAS AND VICINITY 49. ECONOM IC DEVELOPMENT. - ThE? prob I em area ana I yzed in deta I I for this report includes the city of'Las Animas and the surrounding agricultural area which are subject to inundation from floods on the Arkansas River. . 16'