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Hi~h Country BANK Home Office: 7360 W. Hwy. 50 . Salida CO 81201 Sallda Branch Buena Vista Branch leadville Branch 130 West 2nd Street 713 East Main Street 600 Harrison Street S~ida CO 81201 Buena Vista CO 81211 leadville CO 80461 Serving the Upper Arkansas Valley since 1886 GUNNISON RIVER BASIN Add those factors together, and it becomes dear that for decades. there were cheaper places [0 develop wa- ter in Colorado. The nonh part of the Colorado River drainage was closer to the metropolitan area, abutted me South Plane drainage where the demand was, and involved shorter runnels under narrower mountain ranges. In other words, if you could develop water for S25 an acre.foot from the Blue River, why pay $250 to develop it from the Gunnison? Now the water isn't available to the north; those Col. orado River tributaries have little left (Q give. Demand continues to grow along the Front Range - especially L N w~, s during a drought. People are willing to pay more for water. Put those factors together. and you can see why Colorado's water developers are now casting a covet- ous eye on the Gunnison. To date. I've found only twO diversions from the Gunnison. Only one actually puts water on the Eastern Slope. It's the Larkspur Ditch, which coUects water on the western side of Mt. Ouray. You can see it carry that water across the Continental Divide a[ Marshall Pass, where it flows down the Arkansas [0 serve farmers east of Pueblo. But in the general scheme of things. it's hardly a major diversion - only 385 acre.feet a year. , o Mortgage Loans o Construction Loans o Business Loans o Car Loans o Savings & Checking o CD's and IR8s Insured by FDIC G) -- LENDER June 2003. Colorado Central Magazine. 19 001780