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<br />n~<~~~~.3 <br /> <br />A number of federal aid programs were available to farmers and ranchers <br />prior to the 1977 drought year. During 1977, additional assistance became <br />available as a result of President Carter's "Drought Package." Between May 1977 <br />and July 1978, the Farmers' Home Administration (FmHA) allocated close to $63 <br />million in low interest loans to 1,180 farm and ranch applicants, mainly to <br />refinance debts and to provide operating funds. Those loans served to <br />supplement about $30 million in allocations, administered under pre-existing <br />FmHA programs. <br /> <br />The Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service (ASCS) and the <br />Bureau of Reclamation were also tapped in the Carter "Drought Package" to <br />administer agricu1t.llral aid. The ASCS distributed grants totaling close to $4 <br />million, while the Bureau of Reclamation channeled about $2.8 million in <br />interest-free loans to water conservat i on programs. Most of the ass i stance <br />money ~ent toward increasing the efficiency of irrigation and reservoir storage <br />systems. The irrigation projects mainly entailed lining ditches or outfitting <br />them with pipes to eliminate water 10s5 attributable to ground seepage and the <br />evapotranspiration caused by the presence of weeds in the ditches. <br /> <br />The Emergency Livestock Feed Program was a pre-existent ASCS program which <br />proved valuable to Colorado farmers and ranchers. Through the program, they <br />received approximately $6.1 million worth of feed supplements during the period <br />October 1976 through September 1977. <br /> <br />A safe conclusion regarding drought impacts 0.. Colorado agriculture is <br />that the impacts are invisible unless one looks beyond the final production and <br />income statistics to the costs incurred in production of the final crop and <br />livestock output. Without the ample federal assistance that was available, the <br />timely rains on the Eastern plains, or the efficient use of Colorado's limited <br />remaining water and grazing resources, the final crop and livestock production <br />figures for 1977 would undoubtedly have been far less substantial than they <br />turned out to be. <br /> <br />1.2.3 MUNICIPALITIES <br /> <br />Co lor ado , s drought-induced water shortage reduced munic i pa 1 water <br />supp 1 ies throughout the State. A lthough few muni ci pa 1 it i es suffered the <br />complete demise of their water supplies, the reduced availability promoted an <br />increased awareness of conservation and ~ater quality problems among local <br />officials and the commensurate deficiencies of many municipal water systems. <br /> <br />Numerous programs were undertaken on the municipal level to curtail the <br />use of short water supplies. Among them were domestic outdoor use restrictions <br />(lawn watering), higher usage and tap fees, and reduced allotments for new taps. <br />Some of the programs were effective. In Denver, mandatory restrictions were <br />placed on 1a~n watering during the summer of 1977. During that period, water <br />consumption dropped 20 percent from an average daily use of about 313 million <br />gallons per day to 247 million gallons per day. <br /> <br />19 <br />