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<br />Based on the communities' finding that the Coal Creek project is <br />financially unacceptable and that local support is lacking for project <br />authorization, an analysis of the economic justification and the <br />financial feasibility was not made. <br /> <br />AUTHOR IZA TI ON <br /> <br />Public Law 91-81 (9lst Congress, S. 574) of October 8, 1969, authorized <br />investigations of water resources and associated problems and <br />opportunities on the Front Range Unit, Colorado, which included the Coal <br />Creek area. The Congress appropriated funds to begin the investigation <br />in fiscal year 1977. <br /> <br />PREVIOUS STUDIES <br /> <br />Earlier related investigations by the Bureau of Reclamation <br />(Reclamation) included a July 1959 appraisal study of the entire South <br />Platte River Basin, the "Report on the South Platte River Basin, <br />Co10rado-Wyoming-Nebraska." That report identified problems, needs, and <br />development potentials in the entire South Platte River Basin, including <br />the Coal Creek area. A 1967 reconnaissance investigation of the St. <br />Vrain Creek area by Reclamation identified critical water problems in <br />the Coal Creek area and recommended feasibil ity studies to meet <br />municipal and industrial water requirements. <br /> <br />In 1969, Reclamation initiated a comprehensive feasibility investigation <br />of long-range solutions to water supply problems of the Front Range <br />Unit, Colorado, extending from the Wyoming border south to the Coal <br />Creek drainage area, and including major portions of Boulder, Larimer, <br />and Weld Counties, Colorado. <br /> <br />Reclamation has deferred comprehensive planning studies of the overall <br />Front Range area, but has continued study of the Coal Creek area where <br />municipal and industrial water supplies are inadequate and local <br />interests are actively searching for solutions to their problems. <br /> <br />In 1968, the communi ti es of Superi or, Loui svil1 e, Lafayette, and Eri e <br />organized the Coal Creek Water and Sanitation Association (later called <br />the Coal Creek Basin Water Users Association, Inc.) in a joint effort to <br />solve their mutual municipal and industria' 'flater supply problems. <br />V ari ous studi es have si nee been made to determi ne alternati ves for <br />solving the area's water problems. <br /> <br />In 1974, Rocky Mountain Consultants, Inc., prepared a report on the Coal <br />Creek Basin and recommended a water supply system which would adequately <br />meet 'ocal demands. Four potential plans were investigated. Three of <br />the plans involved purchasing existing reservoirs and converting their <br />storage to municipal and industrial use; however, none of the three <br />plans were found to be feasible. The fourth plan involved constructing <br />a dam and reservoir on Coal Creek and installing water treatment facili- <br /> <br />2 <br />