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<br />COLORADO-BIG THO!.l1'SON PROJECT <br /> <br />Do You Kno.... That: <br /> <br />The Colprado-Big Thompson Project is one of the ....orld's <br />greatest undertakings with respect to reversing tbe direction of <br />a portion of. the flow of one of the Nation's major streams--the <br />Colorado River. w1i~n completed, surplus waters of the Upper <br />Colorado River.will be directed toward the Atlantic instead 'of the <br />. ,. . <br />Pacific slope of the North Am6rican Continent. <br /> <br />Surplus waters of the Upper Colorado River wili be lifted.as <br />much as 186 feet by one of the ....orld's largest pumping plants--a <br />plant capable of supplying the dailY requirements of more than half <br />the population of New York City--and thence will flow east through <br />a 13.1-mile tunnel beneath the crest of the snow-capped Rocky <br />Mountains. <br /> <br />Granby Reservoir, located 8,280 feet above sea level, is the <br />largest body of water at such an altitude in the entire United <br />States and the second largest body of water in the State of <br />Colorado. .. . <br /> <br />Colorado River water will be used to augment the irrigation <br />supply of more than t million acres of land in northeastern <br />Colorado and to' supplement the municipal ....ater supply of'nearly <br />50,000 people. ' <br /> <br />, <br />Electric energy generated by project power plants as the water <br />rushes down the Eastern Slope of the lofty Rocky MOuntain Range <br />will be equi valent to the normal power demands of a city with a <br />population of 350~OOO. <br /> <br />Construction and operation of the project will improve and <br />extend some of the world's moet popular' fishing, vacation, and <br />recreational. areas. <br /> <br />The 13.1-mile 'Alva B. Adams Tunnel is the longest tunnel in <br />the United States to be driven exclusively from two portals. .At <br />the meeting point, over 3,000 feet below the earth's surface, the <br />difference 1n tunnel alignment and grade could have been covered <br />by a 25-cent piece~ <br /> <br />The'United St~tes will retain the power features,.and the in- <br />come from power production will repay the project cost over and <br />abo~ th~t paid py irrigation interests. <br /> <br />Many of the project featurea can be viewed from paved highways <br />on a popular one-day circle trip through a vacation ....roderland of <br />unsurpassed scenery and alluring recreational areas. <br /> <br />1 <br />