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. I. - . . . . . . . .- . I I I I I . I- II - . CHAPTER I GENERAL INFORMATION PROJECT SETTING The Grand Mesa Project is located in Delta County of west central Colorado on the south slope of Grand Mesa from which the Project derives its name. The Project location and service area boundary are shown on Figure I-I. The Project area is served by Colorado State Highways 65, 92, and 133 which are supplemented by County and National Forest roads. Highway 65 provides access to Grand Mesa and is open throughout the year. Forest Service roads, including the Scenic Rim Drive to Lands End Overlook, provide access to most areas of Grand Mesa and connect with County, State and Federal road systems. A branch of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad extends along the southern border of the Project area to the rich coal mines east of Paonia. A small airfield is operated at Delta and commercial air service is provided at Montrose and Grand Junction. The Project area is in the Gunnison River Basin, a portion of the Upper Colorado River Basin. The Gunnison River and its North Fork flow westward along the southern border of the Project area and are joined by numerous tributaries draining the south face of Grand Mesa. Tongue and Currant Creeks join the Gunnison River below the mouth of the North Fork in the vicinity of the Project Service Area. Tongue Creek at the western edge of the area is a short, deeply entrenched stream with numerous tributaries, including Doughspoon, Oak, Dirty George, Ward, Cottonwood, Kiser, Youngs, and Surface Creeks. Currant Creek is a small stream draining a watershed of relatively low elevation east of Surface Creek. AREA NEEDS Streamflows from Grand Mesa are normally high in the spring and diminish throughout the summer. To augment the late-season supply for irrigation, private interests have created numerous small storage reservoirs on Grand Mesa -6- /