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<br />~ ..-\' <br /> <br />COLORADO WATZR CONSERVATION BOARD <br />823 State Centennial Building <br />1313 Sherman Street <br />Denver, Colorado 80203 <br /> <br />October, 1976 <br /> <br />RICO PROJECT <br /> <br />IN'iRODUCTION <br /> <br />The town of Rico is a small mining town situated near the headwaters <br />of the Dolores River. It is about 47 miles northeast of Cortez and lies <br />at an elevation of 8,800 feet. The town grew very rapidly in the early <br />1880's to a population of 3,000 persons. It was at this time that the <br />original townsite was organized and the basic water system was installed, <br />The town has subsequently gone through the decreased population <br />changes associated with most of the mining towns, In 1970 the census <br />figures showed a permanent population of 269 persons, increasing to about <br />300 during the summer. Population is expected to increase slightly in <br />the future. Such increase will depend on the future activities of Rico- <br />Argentine, the local mine, which provides most of the employment in <br />town. Rico-Argentine has been increasing its activities recently, Since <br />mines around the state have also been increasing their production, there <br />is a very good chance that this acceleration of work will continue. <br />Based on this, the projected growth for the next forty years is expected <br />to be a 25 percent increase, or a total of 526 residents, <br />The present town water system is entirely open-ended and water <br />flows through the intake into the storage tank, which in turn overflows <br />when the demand from the town is less than the inflow, The distribution <br />system is also open-ended in that all mains have open, constantly dis- <br />charging drains through which flows are regulated by valves, There are <br /> <br />0330 <br />