WSP06249

• File Number: 8147
• Description: Gunnison Arkansas Project
• State: CO
• Basin: Arkansas
• Water Division: 2
• Date: 3/1/1949
• Author: DOI-BOR
• Title: Reconnaissance Study on Municipal and Irrigation Water Supply Plans for Colorado Springs and the Fountain River Valley Colorado
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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Other Muhicipal Water Plans

23. Other plans for providing Colorado Springs with additional
municipal water from the Pikes Peak area have been considered. One
plan waR to obtain approxil!lltely 2,000 acre-feet annually from the
upper Oil Creek drainage. A field reconnaissance raised serious doubt
of the water supply b.buve 10,000 feet. which e levP,t ion is necessary
for o.n economical Gravit:\, diversion to Catamount Creek. The annual
water yield at a lower elevation on Oil Creek would be somowho.t greater
but tho cost of collecting. pumping, and transport5_ng the wator to tho
Colorado Springs system would be so high as to be u.."leconomical. Another
plan g;_ven consideration involved pumping "bout 2.J'JO acre-feet of
water e.!l."lually from the wast fork of West Bea-ror Creek at elev"tion
10.750 to be delivered to the Colorado Springs system thrmgh the
i3:l-;rickl'Ox" TUIh"lel. Furthor consider"tion of this plan wo.s doferred
upon receipt of infornntion th"t the town of Cripple Creek depems
upon tho.t water for it s municipal supply.

Irrigati~:::?d Municipal Water :Plans

24. Irrigation is practiced in tm Fountain River Va.lley, mo.in-
1;1' in the vicinity of the town of FOUIlGain. [\upplomental supplies for
lands o.lre"dy irrigated am wo.te,- for bringing new lams under irriga-
tion would be of economic- impor'vance to the are". However" considera-
ti.on must be given to too cost of obtaining adequate and dependable
st'_pplies of irrig"tion wo.ter. Two potentialities for f"rthering irriga-
tion in th> Fountain Valley are described in this section of th> re-
port. One pobentiality is by pump diVersion from the South Platte
River 1 the ot her po'.;ent iality would conserve flows of the Fountain
River "nlYl both plans ure dual-purpose. in that municipal as woll as
irrigr.tion water could be provided. All estil111tos and phases of the
plans are tentative.

!?y.o.l'~~:~::'pose South Platte River

25. In lieu of the previously described Single-Purpose South
Platte River Plan which would pump 7,000 acre-feet of wuter from th>
South Platte Rivar solely fut' municipal use. it would ba pos sible to
pump from that same source 45.000 acro-feet annuiU1y of which 7,000
,,-cre...foet would 'ro for mU'1icipa.l purposes and 38.000acre-faat would
be for irrigation in the Fountain Va.lley. Tha basio diversion ala-
mants of this dual-..purpose plan are similor to those described for
the single~purpose plan, except tho.t SOID) canals would be used in lieu
of pipelines" However. in order to regulat9 the irrigation wo.'Ger after
it ms reached the F'ouIltain Valley, tha eonstruction of a new reser-
voir or the enlargomant of some existiIl{; r"servo;_- '~'),'ld >,,, nocesse.r~'.,

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