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. . PART IV PROGRAM NARRATIVE 1. OBJECTIVES AND NEED FOR THIS ASSISTANCE. The p~oblem to be add~essed by the p~oposed financial assistance is the salt cont~ibution to the Colo~ado Rive~ f~om the G~and Valley Unit as well as salt damage to local ag~icultu~al lands. It has been estimated that the G~and Valley Unit cont~ibutes 580,000 tons of salt annually to the Colo~ado Rive~ system, accounting fo~ a salinity concent~ation inc~ease of 42.8 millig~ams pe~ lite~ (mg/L) at Impe~ial Dam. The la~ge salt cont~ibution is att~ibutable to conveyance system seepage losses and deep pe~colation of i~~itation wate~ applications. This wate~ picks up salts as it passes th~ough the weathe~ed shales of the Mancos Fo~mation and eme~ges in the Colo~ado Rive~. The i~~igation delive~y systems fo~ the G~and Valley consist of both p~ivate and Fede~al developments. The p~ivate canals a~e ope~ated by the G~and Valley I~~igation Company, and the Mesa County, O~cha~d Mesa, and Palisade I~~igation Dist~icts. The late~als se~ved by the p~ivate canals a~e ope~ated by loosely o~ganized g~oups o~, in many cases, an individual wate~ use~. P~ivately-owned late~als se~ve about 75 pe~cent of the valley's landowne~s who ~eceive i~~igation wate~ th~ough 634 p~ivate late~al systems. This amounts to app~oximately 10,000 wate~ use~s who a~e se~ved by the p~ivate late~al systems. The Bu~eau of Reclamation's (BaR) ~ecommended plan fo~ Stage Two of the G~and Valley Unit as p~esented in the d~aft Envi~onmental Impact Statement filed Septembe~ 24, 1985, p~oposes lining approximately 40 miles of canal and placing 300 miles of the late~al system in pipe to reduce the seepage, which in turn contributes to the salt loading. The objective of this Cooperative Agreement is fo~ the State of Colorado, Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) to (1) organize existing entities and/or newly formed entities into organizations with legal authority capable of contracting with the United States and (2) coordinate the development of cooperative agreements for the legal entities which will promote the completion of BOR's Stage Two of the Grand Valley Unit. Under the proposed cooperative agreements, the entities would secure right-of-way agreements, construct, operate, maintain, and allow inspection of the salinity control improvements proposed in the BaR recommended plan. 2. RESULTS OR BENEFITS EXPECTED. Benefits to be derived from this action would be an estimated salt loading reduction to the Colorado River system of 143,500 tons per year or a salinity concentration reduction of about 13.1 mg/L at Imperial Dam. 9