WSP03108

• File Number: 8220.131.J
• Description: Yellow Jacket Project
• State: CO
• Basin: Yampa/White
• Water Division: 6
• Date: 2/1/1965
• Title: Yellow Jacket Project Colorado: Plan Formulation Studies
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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The Yellow Jacket,)roj ect plan would provide for the irrii> ..ion

of about 23,200 acres in the ',:;,ite River area and 5,400 acres in the

Milk Cre~k area. It would also develop about 50,000 acre-feet of M&I

water for oil shale and related industry, provide adequate fishery flows

~r. tile Hhite River and its tributaries, and the storage reservoirs would

?rovide recreation and some flood control.

This development would be provided by construction of Lost

Park and Ripple Creek reservoirs in the White River drainage with cap-

acities of about 22,000 and 20,000 acre-feet, respectively, Thornburgh

reservoir On Milk Creek with a capacity of about 13,000 acre-feet, Yel~ow

Jacket Canal with the Coal Creek and Josephine Basin branches, and the

East and West Milk Creek laterals. This plan would eliminate the need

'cor an expensive canal and tunnel system across Yellow Jacket Pass ane

ehe equally expensive Axial Basin canal out of Thornburgh reservoir.

Under this plan the M&I water for oil shale would be delivered at the

terminus of the Josephine Basin canal. Ripple Creek reservoir, required

only to develop 20,000 acre-feet of the M&I water supply, could be built

later as a second stage of the project if the full 50,000 acre-feet of

M&I water is not needed initially. The total M&I water sUP2ly could

ultimately be increased to about 100,000 acre-feet by adding storage

control on the South Fork of White River in a later stage of the project.

The Juniper proj ect plan would provide for the irrigation of

the reTI:a~"ing 42,800 acres of land--inc1uding 18,200 acres in the Axial

Basin area, 5,000 acres in the Deception Creek area, 9,000 acres in the