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<br />. <br /> <br />, <br /> <br />.. " <br />t:.,Q .~.L' <br /> <br />Chapter 1: Purpose and Need <br /> <br />This draft Environmental Assessment (EA), prepared by United States Department of the Interior, <br />Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act <br />(NEPA), analyzes impacts on amending an existing easement issued to the Pueblo West Metropolitan. <br />District (Pueblo West) to permit the construction, operation, and maintenance of a proposed River <br />Pump Station No.2, a 36-inch pipeline, a diversion and river intake structure, and generator. It will <br />lead either to an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) if impacts are determined to be significant or <br />to a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) if impacts are insignificant. Reclamation will decide <br />whether an EIS or FONSI is appropriate after the public and other agencies have the chance to review <br />and comment on the draft EA. <br /> <br />Chapter One of the draft EA defines the purpose and need of the action, describes the facilities and <br />provides background information. Chapter Two discusses the alternatives, and Chapter Three details <br />the environment of the area and effects of the alternatives. The EA concludes with a chapter on public <br />involvement and coordination with other government agencies. <br /> <br />Background <br /> <br />Pueblo West relies upon the following existing infrastructure below Pueblo Dam to supply raw water <br />to Pueblo West's Water Treatment Plant (Plant) (See Figure 1): <br /> <br />(1) River Pump Station No.1 is located 1,4 mile downstream of Pueblo Dam on the north bank of <br />the Arkansas River. River Pump Station No.1 pumps up to 18.9 cubic feet per second (cfs) of <br />water from Pueblo Dam's South Outlet Works into the, <br /> <br />(2) 24-inch pipeline that connects to the Plant. No additional capacity is currently available to <br />Pueblo West from the South Outlet Works. <br /> <br />(3) A mounded riprap diversion structure (diversion structure) helped to accommodate temporary <br />pumps placed into the river. The diversion structure is not currently being used with the River <br />Pump Station No. 1. <br /> <br />River Pump Station No.1, a portion of the 24-inch pipeline, and the diversion structure are located on <br />lands owned by Reclamation (See Figure 1). Permission to access Reclamation land to operate and <br />maintain these existing facilities was granted to Pueblo West through an easement. <br /> <br />Purpose/Need <br /> <br />The purpose and need of the proposed action are as follows: <br /> <br />1. Provide a physically redundant line to supply raw water to the existing treatment plant. <br /> <br />3 <br /> <br />':' <br />