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<br />306C <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Pueblo damsite to John Martin Reservoir near the City of <br />Las Animas is seldom adequate for maximum crop production. <br />Historically, water shortages as high as 78 percent of <br />crop requirements have occurred. To reduce these short- <br />ages, private interests constructed trans mountain water <br />diversion systems and initiated extensive pumping from <br />ground water. <br /> <br />The Federal Government acquired nearly 18,000 acres of <br />land for Pueblo Dam and Reservoir area since 1964. This <br />land was formerly used primarily for agricultural pur- <br />poses. There were some small portions of irrigated land <br />comprising nearly 350 acres devoted to raising alfalfa, <br />other tame hays and small feed grains to supplement cattle <br />rations during the winter feeding seasons. The remaining <br />lands were primarily used for rangeland. <br /> <br />The agricultural income in this area was almost entirely <br />derived from ranching and the sale of livestock. The <br />reservoir will inundate eight small family farms. These <br />families were paid for their holdings and moved by the <br />Bureau of Reclamation to new locations. All of the fami- <br />lies stayed within the general area and are continuing <br />farming/ranching operations or are nOw employed in nearby <br />towns. <br /> <br />The Upper Arkansas River Valley is prone to disastrous <br />floods. In June 1921 the worst flood occurred in the <br />history of Pueblo, taking many lives and incurring nearly <br />$20 million of reported damages. More than 57,000 acres <br />of downstream land below Pueblo were inundated. In 19211- <br />1925, concerned local interests constructed the Barrier <br />Dam - Pueblo Floodway to protect the City of Pueblo. The <br />Barrier Dam consists of a concrete overflow section with <br />earth dikes on each end connecting with high ground. The <br />spillway section has two full openings, one for the Arkansas <br />River channel and one for the old Denver and Rio Grande <br />Western Railroad. There is also one tunnel opening for <br />vehicles and livestock. The Barrier Dam was designed for <br />the purpose of diminishing all extreme floods to a peak <br />flow of 100,000 c.f.s. or less. The Pueblo Floodway was <br />designed for a capacity of 125,000 c.f.s. to carry the <br />flood passing the Barrier Dam. The Bureau of Reclamation <br />found the safe channel capacity of the channel to be <br />100,000 c.f.s. The Barrier Dam - Pueblo Floodway would <br /> <br />30 <br />