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<br />, <br />,r~ 0':'5 <br />...." ... .... .' ~ - <br />., <br /> <br />Valley, <br />project <br /> <br />Completed in <br />in Colorado. <br /> <br />1910, it was the first Bureau of Reclamation <br /> <br />The only significant change altering average upper basin depletions <br />since 1960 was the development of the Curecanti Unit. This unit, <br />authorized by the Colorado River Storage Project Act (P, L. 84-485) <br />in 1956 and constructed by the Bureau of Reclamation, supplies <br />long term hydroelectric power and carryover water storage for the <br />Upper Colorado River basin, The project includes 3 dams and <br />reservoirs--Blue Mesa, Morrow Point, and Crystal--and inundates <br />nearly 35 miles (56 km) of the Gunnison River above the study <br />segment. Figure 2-5a shows existing regional water resource <br />developments. <br /> <br />North of Blue Mesa Resrvoir in western Gunnison County, the <br />Bureau of Reclamation's authorized Fruitland Mesa Project would <br />take water from three Gunnison River tributaries--Soap, Curecanti, <br />and Crystal Creeks; Soap Creek flows would be regulated by Soap <br />Park Reservoir, The project would irrigate lands in Montrose and <br />Delta counties, east of the study area, <br /> <br />Ground water in the region is uncommon and high in dissolved <br />solids, Consequently, there has been relatively little use of this <br />water source, and relatively little data have been developed on its <br />use, It is estimated that ground water provides less than 1 <br />percent of the region's total water consumption, <br /> <br />Fish and Wildlife <br /> <br />The diversity of vegetative cover and water temperature conditions <br />provides a wide variety of fish and wildlife habitat types, (Figure <br />2-6 illustrates some popular game species' distribution in the <br />Gunnison basin.) Virtually all lakes and streams are managed by <br /> <br />31 <br />