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I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I n" 1... 'I. ;l(.) tl "J :-. ,:..l. {) . water supply - For lands to be classified as practicably irrigable, there must also be a reliable source of irrigation water. Such determinations are usually based upon hydrological analyses of available water sources. . economic feasibility - The final criterion for judging the practicality of irrigation is benefit-cost analysis. As Special Master Tuttl e stated in Ari zona v. Ca 1 Horni a, "For present purposes, a finding that annual benefits exceed costs will suffice for a finding of practicable irrigability." This report describes the methodology and results of benefit and cost studies of irrigation projects on the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservations. The general approach employed in these studies is described in Section 1.2 below. 1.2 Study Approach The benefits and costs of bringing new lands under irrigation on the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute Indian Reservations were assessed using procedures set forth in the Economic and Environmental Principles and Guidelines for Water and Related Land Resource Implementation Studies, U.S. Water Resources Council, March 10, 1983. These procedures involved the development of on-farm crop budgets for land parcels on both reservations which had passed the tests of arability, engineering feasibility, and water supply availability. These crop budget analyses provided estimates of annual net benefits per acre attributable to irrigated agriculture. These annual benefit estimates were then compared with annualized water delivery charges to determine whether the benefits of irrigation would exceed the costs of water delivery and application. In cases where 2 - .t.;;_;