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<br />.- <br />to <br />~ <br />.... <br /> <br />Needs for Further Development of Water and Related Land Resources <br /> <br />'- <br /> <br />Irrigation and Dra_:l,nage _~e_eds_ <br /> <br />c <br /> <br />Because late season water shortages occur almost every year in irrigated areas <br />that obtain their water supply from small unregulated streams, more and larger <br />water storage facilities are needed. A dependable water supply would help <br />stabilize the production of winter feed supplies and help provide an economic <br />stimulation for new developments and improved practices. Several irrigated <br />areas are geographically located so they can best be served by projects to <br />satisfy their water deficiencies. Other areas, especially those that are <br />small and isolated from potential projects, can best be served by individual <br />or group action developments such as small diversion or storage facilities. <br />In many instances water management practices need improvement to get the maxi- <br />mum production from the available water supply. <br /> <br />Under present conditions the basin's irrigated land needs about 22 percent <br />more water to reach the ideal crop irrigation requirement. About one-third of <br />the irrigated acreage is in pasture and range. A large portion of these lands <br />are in short water supply areas. Pasture and range crops have been found to <br />be the best adapted for short water supply areas. Ahout 83 percent of the <br />irrigated pasture and range lands are short of late-season water supply and <br />are located along the smaller unregulated streams. <br /> <br />The agricultural productivity can be increased by providing additional water <br />to lands which are suitable for irrigation but are presently in dry cropland <br />and pasture. The expansion of irrigated acreage stimulates the agricultural <br />industry and improves related industry economy. Providing water to these <br />lands will increase the forage base and support the livestock industry. <br /> <br />Water development projects proposed by the Bureau of Reclamation would provide <br />adequate water supplies to most of the short supply lands as well as water for <br />new land. The availability of dependable water supplies should produce higher <br />crop yields, which in turn would make improvement of the present irrigation <br />and drainage facilities economically feasible. Potential water supply projects <br />throughout the basin would also provide opportunities for development of new <br />farm irrigation systems along with the project distribution canals. <br /> <br />It is estimated that 30 percent of the irrigated lands, mostly hay meadow and <br />pasture lands, need drainage facilities to provide control of the ground water <br />table and to provide for the removal of excess irrigation water. This would <br />improve the quantity and quality of the harvest under the present level of <br />irrigation and fertilizer practices. <br /> <br />Electric Power Needs <br /> <br />The electric power needs of the basin are minimal compared to the power <br />generated at the two steam plants, however, substantial growth in the power <br />needs for the western Colorado region has been forecasted. The basin is <br />served by the Yampa Valley Electric Association (YAVE) which purchases its <br />power needs from Colorado-Ute Electric Association (COUE). Records for a <br />six year period show YAVE with a very minimal growth. The average annual <br />energy and load growth for YAVE runs about 3 percent while COUE's growth <br />runs about 13 percent. Table 2 shows a 10-year projection of YAVE's future <br />power needs as compared to those of COUE. Both utilities experience a winter <br />peak. <br /> <br />21 <br />