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<br />REPORT OF THE REGIONAL DIRECTOR
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<br />DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR,
<br />BUREAU OF RECLAMATION,
<br />REGIONAL OFFICE, REGION 7,
<br />Denver, Colo., July 5, 1950.
<br />Revised February 23, 1951-
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<br />To: The Com~ssioner, Bureau of Reclamation.
<br />From: The Regional Director, Region 7, Denver, Colo.
<br />Subject: Report on the initial development, Roaring Fork Diversion,
<br />,of the Gunnison-Arkansas project, Colorado.
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<br />TRANSMITTAL AND AUTHORITY
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<br />1. This is my report on the initial development, Roaring Fork
<br />Diversion, of the potential Gunnison-Arkansas project, Colorado.
<br />The initial development, a multiple-purpose project involving trans-
<br />mountain diversion of water, is designed as a major step in optimum
<br />utilization of witter and related resources in the upper Arkansas River
<br />Basin, The report and substantiating documents are submitted, for
<br />your approval and for departmental action with a view toward
<br />securing con~ressional authorization for development of the project.
<br />2. Authority to make this report and supporting investigations is
<br />provided in the Federal reclamation laws (act of June 17, 1902, 32
<br />Stat. 388, and acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto),
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<br />INTRODUCTION
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<br />3, From its origin on the snowcapped mountains of Lake County,
<br />Colo" the Arkansas River (pronounced Ar-kan-saw) flows eastward,
<br />1,500 miles to its confluence with the Mississippi., The river's
<br />drainage from t!1e Continental Divide to Ellinwood, Kans" comprises
<br />the upper Arkansas River Basin. The economy of that semiarid
<br />section of the Nation is bound closely to its natural resources. Their
<br />conservation a~d development are essential if the economy of the
<br />basin is to be stabilized and expanded. Water is the key resource and
<br />its utilization for all beneficial purposes is of prime importance, The
<br />Arkansas River is the hydrologic artery of the basin. It furnishes
<br />municipal water, industrial water, and irrigation water, The be-
<br />havior and the, yield of the river are, therefore, of concern to all
<br />interested in iITigation agriculture, in the protection and expansion of
<br />business investments, and in the wise and orderly development of the
<br />resources of the ,basin,
<br />4, The potential Gunnison-Arkansas project is a major unit in the
<br />comprehensive plan of development of tbe water resources of the
<br />upper Arkansas River Basin which is being investigated by the Bureau
<br />of Reclamation, The project is adaptable to construction by suc-
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