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<br />34 <br /> <br />Grand River Ditch normally diverts from the middle or.end of May to <br />early in September. The basin tributary to the Ditch comprises Some 21 <br />square miles, lying at elevations ranging from 10,175 to the summit of Mt. <br />Richtofen at 12,940 feet. Timberline varies from 10,200 to 11,000 feet. <br />The yield of the basin tributary to Grand River Ditch is appreciably greater <br />than the Ditch's historic diversions to the Poudre basin. <br /> <br />The yield potential of Grand River Ditch is not utilized for several <br />reasons: <br /> <br />I. In periods of surplus or "free" water on the Cache la Poudre River, <br />water normally may not be imported to the Poudre from the Colorado. Such <br />periods of surplus water occur in the high flow years for a period of days <br />or weeks. Grand River Oitch water is then spilled before it can cross the <br />Divide. <br /> <br />2. There are times of no surplus when other rights are satisfying <br />direct flow demands and Long Draw Reservoir is full. The Grand River Ditch <br />then spills. <br /> <br />3. There are periods when the yield exceeds the capacity of the Ditch. <br /> <br />4. There are periods of substantial yield when the snow has not yet <br />been cleared out of the Oitch. <br /> <br />. <br />i; <br />,. <br /> <br />5. Grand River Ditch :loses. large amounts of water by see~age, ~arti- <br />cularly in certain rocky reaches of the Ditch that have fissures and fractures, <br />and generally high permeability ra~es. <br /> <br />> <br /> <br />A part of the presently unused yield potential can be utilized by two <br />means. First, the enlargement of Long Oraw Reservoir; and second, lining of <br />portions of Grand River Ditch. <br /> <br />Analyses of the records of daily diversions over a 10-year period indi- <br />cate that annual diversions could be increased by an average of 2,500 acre <br />feet with an additional 6,000 acre feet of reservoir capacity. In several <br />years, notably the drought years of 1954-1956, additional storage would not <br />in itself result in increased diversions. In high runoff years, diversions <br />could increase to the full extent of additional reservoir capacity. <br /> <br />Grand River Ditch seepage losses are estimated to be 30%. The loss rate <br />is not uniform over the length of the Ditch, but is particularly high in <br />certain reaches. Lining of 1.72 mi les is proposed to reduce losses in these <br />reaches. The over-all loss wil I be reduced from an estimated 30% to 24% by <br />this construction. The gain in diversions by the loss reduction averages <br />1500 acre feet per year over the study period. The summary of the proposed <br />loss reduction in the Grand River Ditch for the 10-year study period is <br />given in Table IV-E, along with the estimated increased yield as a result <br />of enlarging Long Draw Reservoir. The estimated increased yield is conserva- <br />tiveo <br />