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<br />between items that have been collected for the project library and those that <br />were reviewed but not actually obtained for the project library. <br /> <br />C'..) <br />:: ) WATER SUPPLY AND USER ENTITI ES <br />(~") <br /> <br />Q:) <br />(,Q <br />N <br /> <br />For the purpose of this memorandum, water suppliers and users <br />area were categorized by their primary purpose as either <br />hydroelectric, agricultural or municipal and industrial (M&I). <br /> <br />in the study <br />regulatory, <br /> <br />The term "regulatory" was coined to describe the Wayne N. Aspinall Unit <br />(Aspinall Unit) of the Colorado River Storage Project which was constructed by <br />the Federal government primarily to regulate Gunnison River flows. The <br />Aspinall Unit is comprised of three storage reservoirs located on the main stem <br />of the Gunnison River; Blue Mesa, Morrow Point and Crystal. Flows of the <br />Gunnison River are largely controlled by Blue Mesa Reservoir, the largest and <br />uppermost of the three. Each of the three reservoirs includes a hydroelectric <br />generating facility. The total installed capacity of the three plants is <br />208,000 kW. The primary function of the Aspinall Unit, however, is to regulate <br />streamflow so that water commitments to the Lower Colorado River Basin can be <br />met in dry periods without curtailment of the development of water allotted to <br />the Upper Basin. <br /> <br />The only commercial hydroelectric power generating station in the study <br />area other than the Aspinall Unit facilities is the Ouray facility. The Ouray <br />hydropower plant is a 700 kW run-of-river facility owned and operated by the <br />Colorado Ute Electric Association. It is located on the Uncompahgre River <br />within the town of Ouray. <br /> <br />Agriculture has historically been the largest user of water within the <br />study area. Irrigated agriculture has been practiced in the area since the <br />late 1800's. Three U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) projects which provide <br />irrigation water from storage serve agricultural lands within the area. These <br />projects are the Uncompahgre Project (Taylor Reservoir), Bostwick Park Project <br />(Silver Jack Reservoir) and the Dallas Creek Project (Ridgway Reservoir). <br />These projects are owned by the USBR but are operated and maintained by the <br />Uncompahgre Valley Water Users Association (UVWVA), the Bostwick Park Water <br />Conservancy District (BPWCD) and the Tri-County Water Conservancy District <br />(Tri-County), respectively. Each of those organizations is also responsible <br />for repayment of the projects. Project Lands irrigated by these three projects <br />are: <br /> <br />-2- <br />