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314'l . PART I INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY PURPOSE OF REPORT The Trinidad Dam and Reservoir, authorized for construction by the Corps of Engineers, will serve the functions of flood control, irrigation, fish and wildlife, and recreation. The irrigation function consists of regulating the water supply for an existing privately developed irrigated. area located in the semiarid Purgatoire River Basin in south central Colorado. Eleven privately owned ditch systems serve the area primarily by direct flow rights from the Purgatoire River. One of the ditch systems, the Model Land and Irrigation Company, has a 20,000 acre-foot storage right and a storage reservoir; however, the capacity of that reservoir has been reduced from its original 20,000 acre-feet to less than 6,000 acre-feet by sedimentation. This report presents a plan for the ir~igation function of the project. Exhibit 1 shows the location of the project. . BACKGROUND INFORMATION The Bureau of Reclamation initiated preliminary studies on irrigation improvements for the a~ea as early as 1937. The Corps of Engineers prior to 1950 had planned to construct levies and channel improvements for flood protection through the city of Trinidad. However, the advantages of a dual-purpose reservoir for both flood control and irrigation were recognized. Cooperative studies were conducted by.the two agencies during 1952 and 1953. These studies resulted in the preparation of a Review Report by the Corps of Engineers in June 1953 which was printed in 1957 as House .Document No. 325, 84th Congress, 2d Session. The Review Report indicated the need for detailed land classification studies and other investigations essential to irrigation under the proposed Trinidad Reservoir. AillHORlZATION Construction of Trinidad Dam and Reservoir by the Corps of Engineers was authorized by.the enactment of Public Law 85-500, 85th Congress, S. 3910, July 3, 1958. Shortly afterwards, funds .