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. }v~~ A{JC ~! f!f ~ /t) COLORADO WATER RESOURCES & 2 !.'.t POWER DEVELOPMENT AUTHORI~Nst2~DowA Logan Tower Bldg. - Suite 620, 1580 Logan Street, Denv~f'~'~111RM DIFI30 '- August NZ'?,~7f ~,,~.:~~c J1'- ,-.. I -_ J , F -"'~ uiL --.. . ~\\\) 'Nr\lER RESotJp ~~ .4 ''0 ~~~~.~.~ <::5---- _,. 1911 ~~~ ~ OfVEIOPMm, ~~ (";) 00 --.l '1 UPPER GUNNISON-UNCOMPAHGRE BASIN STUDY INTRODUCTION On June 8, 1987 the Colorado Water Resources and Power Development Authority initiated a prefeasibility-level study of water development options in the Upper Gunnison and Uncompahgre Basins. The Upper Gunnison- Uncompahgre Basin Study is being undertaken at the request of the Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District and the Colorado River Water Conservation District for the purpose of enhancing the water-based economy of the region. Water resourees planning in the Upper Gunnison Basin began in the early 1900's and resulted in the construction of the second project ever undertaken by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR), the Uncompahgre Projeet. The major project features eonsist of the Gunnison Tunnel and Taylor Reservoir. The Gunnison Tunnel diverts water from the Upper Gun- nison River for irrigation in the Uncompahgre Valley. Taylor Reservoir supplies water for irrigation, fisheries, and recreation. It also pro- vides flood protection on the Taylor River. Although the project is still owned by the federal government, it has been operated and maintained by the Uneompahgre Valley Water Users Association since 1932. Subsequent USBR development work in the Gunnison Basin resulted in the construetion of Blue Mesa Reservoir, the largest reservoir in Colora- do. Blue Mesa Reservoir, together with Morrow Point and Crystal Reser- voirs, form the Wayne M. Aspinall Unit of the Colorado River Storage Project (CRSP). The Aspinall Unit has a total storage capacity of approx- imately 1,086,000 acre-feet and a hydroelectric power capacity of 208 megawatts. Several other projects in the Basin were sponsored by the USBR for water storage and power development. These projects include: the Dallas Creek Project, the Bostwick Park Project, the Smith Fork Project, and the Paonia Project. Each of these projects were named as participating proj- ects to CRSP. This meant that the projects would be financially linked to CRSP and would be given priority in the completion of planning reports. Another participating project, the Upper Gunnison Project, identified several potential sites for future water storage reservoirs in the area. The Concluding Report for the Upper Gunnison Projeet was published by the USBR in 1973. __"