PROJ00414

• Contract/PO #: C153326
• Contractor Name: Fruitland Mesa Water Conservancy District
• Contract Type: Grant
• Water District: 0
• County: Montrose
• Bill Number: XB 99-999
• Loan Projects - Doc Type: Feasibility Study

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At the present time, an area of about 6,310 acres is being irri-
gated in the Fruitland Mesa Project. However, due to a shortage of
water in the system, the area cannot be irrigated fully. To relieve
the present shortage, which is about 33 percent on an annual basis,
and to increase the irrigation service area, if possible, the Fruit-
land Mesa Conservancy District has proposed that the possibility of
providing holdover storage in the Gould Reservoir by routing the
existing withdrawals from the Crystal Creek through the reservoir and
additional sources of water be examined. If found feasible, the
project plan would be to raise the Gould Dam and the North Dyke to the
prevalent dam standards, construct a Black Mesa collection conduit to
divert additional water from the slopes of the Black Mesa to the
Fruitland Mesa service areas, and to construct the necessary convey-
ance system.

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Section 3: Water Resources

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There are three major sources of surface water that can be ex-
ploited to provide irrigation to lands within the boundary of the
Fruitland Mesa Water Conservancy District. These sources are:

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1. Crystal Creek. The Creek drains an area of 42.2 squares
miles and on an annual basis has a runoff of 25,000 acre feet.

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2. Onion Valley. The runoff from a drainage area of 22 square
miles, flows into the Gould Reservoir. The drainage area is at a
much lower elevation than that of the Crystal Creek; therefore,
the snowfall, which is the primary source of runoff in the area,
is considerably less. Consequently, the average annual runoff
from the Onion Valley is 1,000 acre feet.

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3. Black Mesa. Presently, the runoff generated by the drainage

area on the southern and southwestern slopes of Black Mesa flows

through several small depressions and gulches into the Crystal

Creek. Provided the senior water rights on the Gunnison River,

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