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<br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />- <br /> <br />CHA1'TER 7 <br />PROJECT eVALUATION <br /> <br />7.1 General: <br /> <br />The Alsbury Reservoir Project represents a small step in the continuing <br /> <br /> <br />development of the water resources within the West Divide District. The area <br /> <br /> <br />which will be directly benefitted contains some of the best and potentially most <br /> <br /> <br />productive agricultural land in the District, from the standpoint of topography, <br /> <br /> <br />soil fertility, and length of growing season. The area is also becoming <br /> <br /> <br />increasingly attractive for residential development on tracts of 40 acres or <br /> <br /> <br />more. As shown by the records in Appendix B, flow from East Divide Creek drops <br /> <br /> <br />to zero or near zero by the end of July in most years. This prevents the <br /> <br /> <br />irrigated hay fields from producing to their full potential; and in the case of <br /> <br /> <br />new residences, limits or eliminates the ability to provide a continuous water <br /> <br /> <br />supply from on-site wells. The problem is not so much the absence of ground <br /> <br /> <br />water, but of providing replacement or augmentation water when streams are under <br /> <br /> <br />administration. <br /> <br />7.2 Irrigation: <br /> <br />The primary crop grown commercially in the Proj ect area is alfalfa hay. <br /> <br /> <br />The length of growing season is such that 2 and sometimes 3 cuttings could be <br /> <br /> <br />obtained if a full water supply were available. Under current conditions, <br /> <br /> <br />junior water rights are curtailed in most years by mid-June, and the creek is <br /> <br /> <br />practically dry by mid-July or the first of August. One additional irrigation <br /> <br /> <br />after the first cutting of hay has been removed (approximately by July 1) will <br /> <br /> <br />increase the yield of the second cutting by at least one ton per acre. In many <br /> <br /> <br />years, water is not available for this irrigation and yields are reduced <br /> <br /> <br />essentially to a single cutting. Current (1988) market values for good, high <br /> <br /> <br />protein, alfalfa hay in the West Divide area are in the range of 80 to 100 <br /> <br /> <br />dollars per ton. These are above average values of recent years because of the <br /> <br /> <br />dry conditions which have existed during the past season. However, over recent <br /> <br /> <br />years the price has only at brief intervals dropped below $60 per ton. Under <br /> <br /> <br />conditions of average irrigation efficiency, one acre-foot of water applied to <br /> <br />-22- <br />