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~ ...... ~ t.H U.S. Department of Agriculture Comments on Draft Envi ronmen'tal Impact Statement ~~t Bureau of Reclamation Colorado River Water Qual ity Improvement Program J. Page 1-4, Line 8 - It should be noted that the Uinta Basin also includes land in Wasatch and Utah counties. 2. Pages 1-6, 1-20, 1-21, and 1-29 - Soil Conservation Service (SCS) programs and activities are omitted from the discussion. Section 203(b) , of PL-93-320 on page E-7 recognizes USDA's responsibilities and activi- ties. We suggest that recognition be given to USDA activities and programs which provide technical assistance to farmers for accomplishing on-farm irrigation systems and management improvements and improving watershed conditions to reduce erosion. We believe the SCS on-farm program is a prerequisite, particularly in the Colorado River Basin, to a successful Irrigation Management Service's (IMS) program and complements the Bureau's off-farm conveyance improvement program. Improved on-farm irrigation systems are needed as an integral part of irrigation efficiency improvement. Good water management cannot be accomplished without efficient systems; optimally, water control structures should be installed which would allow measurement of water delivered to each field. The Upper Colorado is a good example where on- farm systems must be improved before IMS can achieve the benefits projected. About 80% of the irrigated area is grass-hay and pasture and much of the irrigation is semi-control led wi Id flooding with spring runoff . ^"'% ""''itJ'' :j:.,..?~; "'::~~-' The present on-farm irrigation efficiency in the Uinta Basin is about 30% and the conveyance efficiency is about 80%. A comparison of these two shows that changes in irrigation efficiencies should have over twice the impact on deep percolation losses as changes in conveyance efficiency will have. Unless on-farm systems and management are improved, irrigacio~ scheduling alone will have very little effect in deep percolation reduc- tion. (t appears that toomu.::h emphasis has been placed on the Bureau's IMS and Water Systems Improvement programs and too little on on-farm i mprov,:,ments. The work of the Agricultural Research Service on the practicality of precipitating salts from irrigation water in the soil should be included. 3. Page 1-28, Last paragraph - It appears that the last paragraph intended to eliminate cation exchange from large scale studies. This should be clarified. 4. Page 1-30, Paragraph 4 - We believe the information concerning the SCS on this page is inadequate and should be revised to read as follows: "Since the mfddle 1930's the Soi I Conservation Service has been assisting landowners in controlling soil erosion and managing their water \~i~J 10