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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />GENERAL INFORMATION ON THE WATERSHED <br /> <br />The Alamosa Watershed is located in Conejos County, in south-central Colorado and encompasses <br />127,000 acres. The Alamosa River, which drains the watershed, is approximately 72 miles long, <br />reaching west from the San Juan Mountains to below Colo. State Hwy. 285. It irrigates 50,000 acres <br />on the San Luis Valley floor. Two small towns, Capulin and La Jara, are included in the Alamosa <br />drainage. <br /> <br />Conejos County is considered the second poorest county in Colorado, with a population of7,700, <br />and with an unemployment rate ofI4 percent. It is estimated that 45.4 percent of the population of <br />Conejos County live at or below the national poverty level. <br /> <br />Land use in the project area is predominantly agricultural. Aside from a narrow margin offederal <br />land near Terrace Reservoir (USFS/BLM), property in the project area is privately owned. <br />Ownership by approximately 100 landowners is generally in small units combining cropland, range, <br />and pasture. Principal crops include alfalfa, small grains, and potatoes. The Alamosa River drainage <br />contributes nearly one-third of the county's economy. <br /> <br />Flood irrigation and center pivot sprinkler systems are used to water crops. Livestock are pastured <br />in meadows in the riparian area and are allowed full access to the river for watering. As a <br />consequence, woody species have been over grazed, which has weakened banks, diminished wildlife <br />habitat and forage production, and reduced shading by tree canopy. Indiscriminate cattle and sheep <br />watering have contributed to bank erosion and sedimentation problems. <br /> <br />WATER QUALITY CONCERNS <br /> <br />The principal water quality problems in the Alamosa River watershed are sediment loading and <br />heavy metal contamination. Sedimentation results from the erosion of unstable, unvegetated banks. <br />Heavy metal contamination is the result of mining activity in the upper watershed. <br /> <br />The project location, between the Terrace Reservoir and Highway 285 (segments 9-10, according <br />to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Water Quality Control <br />Commission's Classifications and Numeric Standards) is classified for agriculture, use protected, <br />and Class II for recreation. Segment 9 is aquatic life Cold I and segment 10 is aquatic life Cold II. <br />All portions of segments 9 and 10 are listed in Colorado's 303-0 list of water quality limited <br />segments that require TMDLs. The impairments are metals-related and are being addressed through <br />the Superfund process. (CDPHE & EPA). Sedimentation from erosion was identified in the 1989 <br />Colorado Nonpoint Assessment Report (p. 115). <br /> <br />NEED FOR WATERSHED RESTORATION PROJECT <br />The Alamosa River below Terrace Reservoir has undergone extensive erosion. This condition is a <br />result of the combined effects ofa channel-straightening project in the early 1970's, inappropriate <br /> <br />Page -1- <br />