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. CRAPI'ER I GENERAL DISCUSSIONS Drainage Annual runoff (1942-61) area (acre-feet ) ( sq.miles ) Average Minimum Maximum San Miguel River 94.5 260.9 At Saltado Dam site 297 171. 7 At Colorado Cooperative 396.7 Canal diversion 660 223.1 104.5 At Naturita 1,080 233.4 95.8 523.1 At Uravan 1,550 260.0 96.1 588.7 Tributaries Specie Creek 11.5 2.8 1.3 4.6 Beaver Creek 35.2 13.4 2.1 42.9 Naturita Creek 52.8 5.9 0.6 18.2 Present development Irrigation . About 14,280 acres are presently irrigated in the project area but almost none of the lands have a full water supply. All of the irrigation water is obtained from creeks that flow northward toward the San Miguel River. Diversions from the San Miguel River to lands in the project area have been beyond the means of the local people because of the deep gorge in which the river flows. The only important diversion from the river is made through the Colorado Cooperative Canal for the irri~ation of lands outside the project area in the vicinity of Nucla. A few ditches also serve small areas of bottom lands in the river gorge outside the project area. Diversions from streams in the project area have been privately financed and constructed through the cooperative efforts of the irrigators through three separate irrigation companies--the Farmers Water Development Company, Lone Cone Ditch Company, and Lilylands Canal and Reservoir Company. The companies maintain three storage reservoirs with a combined capacity of 11,100 acre-feet. Each reservoir is at an offstream site and is served with feeder and distribution canals. Data on the reservoirs are shown below. Reservoir Gur ley Irrigation compaQY Farmers Water Development Company Lone Cone Ditch Company Lilylands Canal and Reser- voir Company Water source Beaver Creek Storage c apaci ty (acre-feet ) 8,800 Cone Lilylands Naturita Creek Naturita Creek 1,800 500 . 8