WSP01385

• File Number: 8276.300
• Description: Lower Gunnison Basin Unit - Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Project
• State: CO
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Water Division: 4
• Date: 6/19/1979
• Title: General News Articles/Press Releases - June 19 1979 to July 20 1992
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: News Article/Press Release

LOWER GUNNISON
BASIN UNI T

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LOWER GUNNISON BASIN UNIT - C.R.W.Q.I;P.
Newsletter - January 1981

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Greetings! This newsletter is intended to keep you abreast of latest develop-
mentswith the salinity control investigation. The last newsletter was sent
out in May 1980, and much has transpired since then. If you have any questions
which are not answered here, or any comments or suggestions, you may contact
Nick Mezei at the Water and Power Resources Service, 764 Horizon Drive, Grand
Junction, Colorado 81501, or telephone [phone], extension 323.

STATUS OF SELECTED PLAN, DESIGNS, ESTIMATES, AND SALT REDUCTION

The plan recommended by the public was obtained in September 1979, and after-
wards, the planning team and the Uncompahgre Valley Water Users board made
recommendations for determining which canals and laterals should be lined. At
the environmental scoping meeting in April 1980, the selected plan was presented
and was outlined again in the May 1980 newsletter.

Designs and cost estimates for canal and lateral lining for the selected plan
were developed during the summer and fall of 1980. The costs derived from the
feasibility level designs were higher than previously estimated. Concurrently,
new analyses with much more available data were made for the salinity loading
from' canals and laterals. The results indicated the anticipated salt reduction
to be lower than previously estimated.

The upshot of the feasibility level cost and salinity estimates was that the
cost-effectiveness of the selected plan was substantially higher than previously
estimated. Consequently, to make the cost-effectiveness more comparative with
other salinity control units, the least cost-effective sections of the selected
plan were deleted. The net result was a plan to only line the South, Loutzenhizer,
East, Garnet, and Selig canals and laterals,

The cost-effectiveness of the modified selected plan is within 20 percent of the
cost-effectiveness of Grand Valley Unit Stage One based on comparative analyses
using current costs and interest rates. The most current construction cost figure
is about $137 million, with an expected salt reduction of about 112,000 tons per
year.

STATUS OF REPORTS

Preparation of the feasibility report and draft environmental statement is cur-
rently underway. The report will outline the selected plan and candidate alter-
natives and summarize the data and analyses developed during the investigation.
The environmental statement will identify and evaluate any environmental impacts
that would occur by implementation of the selected plan or the candidate alter-
natives. Detailed technical data, supporting these two documents will be compiled
in specific subject-matter appendices including: plan formulation; public

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