WSPC06709

• File Number: 8210.720
• Description: Colorado River Basin Organizations-Entities - US Bureau of Reclamation
• State: CO
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Water Division: 5
• Date: 12/1/1946
• Author: CWCB
• Title: Comments-Views-and Recommendations of the State of Colorado - Concerning Report Number 34-8-2 - US BOR
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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For many years the State has been urging the investigation and issuanoe
of reports on specifio projeots within its borders. These investigations
and reports have reaohed various stages of completion. Based thereon
and beoause of known informati on on these projeots, the State is able and
desires to urge an early issuanoe of reports on, and consideration for
early oonstruotion, of a group of projeots hereinafter mentioned. These
projeots are all within the Colorado River Basin and will cause a depletion
of water supplies assuredly within the ultimate allocation of Colorado
River water whioh may be made to the State. Consideration of these projeots
for oonstruction should not be delayed pending the oonsummation of an
Upper Colorado River Basin oompaot. These projeots do not constitute an
exolusive list and the list should be subject to expansion as investigations
prooe.ed. The projeots, with brief referenoes to their nature and investi-
gational and authorization status, are as follows:

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(a) Pnonia Projeot. This projeot was authorized in 1939
and since that time $900,000 has been appropriated for its oon-
struction. The sum of $848,470.50 now remains available to the
Bureau of Reolamation to proceed with actual construction. Be-
oause of ohange in design, inorease in costs and necessary repay-
ment arrangements, it was found necessary to seek a reauthorization
or amended authorization. The necessary district organizations
of water users have been set up. More recently the water users
have agreed to inorease their unit obligations for the water and
have, with the concurrenoe of the State, suggested a longer repay-
ment period. The final report has been oanpleted and the project
is before the Department of Interior for approval and for sub-
mission to the Congress for reauthorization. Tb3 project will
provide supplemental water supplies for presently irrigated lands.
The storage faoilities of this projeot provide a capacity of
14,000 acre feet.

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(b) Pine River Extension, This project will provide
laterals and distribution faoilities for the oonveyanoe to project
lands of water stored by the Valleoito reservoir, located in
Southwestern Colorado. The Valleoito dam and reservoir is a
Bureau of Rec~arnation project completed in December, 1942. It
stores 125,000 acre feet of water. The existing facilities below
the dam do not serve all of the lands whioh may, and are intended
to be, irrigated with water stored in Vallecito reservoir. The
Pine River Extension constitutes a unit of the project. Investi-
gations of the Pine River Extension have proceeded to the point
where a report of the Regional Director, Region 4, Bureau of
Reclamation, is expected in the very near future. Obviously, in
the interest of the water users under the Fine River projeot, as
well as in the interest of the Government, in order to make stored
water available for irrigation of land, the Pine River Extension
should be considered for early construction,