WSP00978

• File Number: 8271.300
• Description: Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program - General Information and Publications-Reports
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Water Division: 5
• Date: 6/1/1982
• Title: Optimizing Salinity Control Strategies for the Upper Colorado River Basin
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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irrigetion systems to their maximum attainable irrigation efficiency. Sprin-
klers were not incluclecl in the optimal array of on-farm improvements for this
area.

HcElmo Creek

The very small amount of available data for the HcElmo Creek area in
southwestern Colorado introduced substantial uncertainty into this analysis.
Fortunately. the total salt contribution is relatively small. The completion
of the Dolores Project will cause an increased salt loading from the area.
The Water ancl Power Resouroe Service's report on the Do16res Projectclicl not
assume any adclitional salt loacling from the presently irrigated lancls. In
acIc1ition, there are only 4.8 Mgm per hectare from the new lancls which is a
very low value considering the saline nature of ,he soils.

Figure 28 presents the optimsl salinity control program for the presently
irrigated lands in the HcElmo.Creek drainage..' Th1:s'analysis"'81llsumeaa longe1;'."'c.-
se~sonal water availability than has been the paatpractice because of the
construction of the Dolol;sS .Project. Table 12 indicates the optimal strat"gy
for each individual alternative. There is basically no canal lining incluclecl
in this prog.rsm; however, the total canal and major lateral lining program is
delineated in Table D-5 in Appendix D.

Bi~ Sandy River

Based almost entirely on costs furnished by the USDA, SCS (1980a) and
upclatecl to January, 1980 prices, the optimal strategy for theBigSancly area
in Wyoming was found to consist of only s small amount of on-farm improvements
and utilizing the Sublette Flats evaporation area. Figure 29 presents the
optimal salinity control strategy which inclucles only these two alternatives..

Sublette Flats is a large natural depression which would be usecl as an
evaporation area for saline grounclwater to be collected by a series of barrier
wells. The on-farm improvements consist only of head ditch linings or gated
pipe. Canal and lateral lining were not inclucled in the analysis since most
of these have already been linecl by compactecl earthm.ethods..

The Sublette Flats ancl barrier well alternatives "Were aseumed to be
linear functions with marg.inal costs of $1l.55/Hgm per year.. The "buy...out"
alternative which has been proposecl by some local landowners to remove the
irrigation water from the land (See Appenclix B) was not as feasible as the
well fielcl-evaporation pond alternative. This is particularly eviclent if the
remaining repayment requirements for the existing Bureau of Reclamation proj-
ect are superimposed on the "buyout" proposal. Therefore, the lllandcrwner','
preferrecl alternative was not consiclerecl.

Point Source Salinity Control Projects

Desalination costs were assumed to be linear "With a system of barrier
wells to intercept the saline grounclwater ancl evaporation poncls for disposal.
A marginal cost of $60.62/Hgm was usecl for all of the agricultural areas.
Glenwood-Dotsero Springs had a marginal c1esalting cost with evaporation ponds

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