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<br />~039
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<br />RUEDl DAM AND RESERVOIR, COLO.
<br />
<br />Data on decreed rights
<br />DECREE OF JANUARY l\H3
<br />
<br />Decree I prior-I I Priorit.... Apprnprln.- I D('C'reegro.nted
<br />,[\,"0. llyNo. dllte' lion date
<br />--
<br />163 258 System: Rifle Pipeline. Point Feb. 5,1949 Feo. 5,11)411 7Y.i ~I:'c.-rt. a.bsoluw.
<br /> uf divrr;i(,n: Loclltl:d in :51'('. ~~'5 see,.ft. e<mditional.
<br /> 15, T. I, S., R, 93 \.....slxtb
<br /> principal meridian.
<br />'''' 2MI Sy::.tom: l'uulJ'm~ l'ip('1i!l8 of Feb. 11,1949 Fllb. 14,1949 118HS(lc.-ft. condi-
<br /> thE' Umon Oil Co. or Call- tiana!.
<br /> rorub. POilll 0' dl....erslon:
<br /> Lr,cat.ed in sec. 6. T. is., R.
<br /> ij,5 \1;-" sixth ]lrincipOl!. weri-
<br /> dian.
<br />
<br />The U.S. Go,'ernment, diversion dam for the Grand Valley projeet,
<br />located on the Colorado River near Cameo, Colo., constitutes the prin-
<br />cipal point of demand on the flow of the river in west em Colorado.
<br />Here, old vested rights in the amount of 2,200 second-feet are diverted
<br />for irrigation, stock watering, and incidental h:rdroelectric power pro.
<br />duction in the yalley area. surrounding the city of Grand (Junction,
<br />Colo. By reuse of the tailrace water from the Palisade pOIVerplant of
<br />the Grand Valley project the maximum demand on the river during
<br />the irrigation season, whieh extends from April 15 through Oetober
<br />81, is Jimitpd to 1:800 sec.ond-feet. During t.he llonirrigation season,
<br />extending from November 1 through the following April 14, the de-
<br />mand to satisfy stock-waterillg and power-production rights is 800
<br />second-feet. This demand on the river a few miles downstream from
<br />the Rifle-De B"'Iue oil shale a.rea. rendel"S junior diversion rights estab-
<br />lished in that area for the oil shale industry inoperative without stor-
<br />age during pel'iods of low flow in the irrlgation seasOll.
<br />Cameron & (Tones, Inc.. a firm of engineenng consultallts of Denver,
<br />Colo.. prepared a study for t1u, State of Colorado in whieh they esti-
<br />mated that eOlnmercial development of the oil shale resources in the
<br />Rifle-De Bequll area of westem Colorado will begin in ealendar year
<br />1965. They further estimate in their report, ,,,hich is also appended
<br />to the Reudi Dam and R€>servoir report. that the consumptive use of
<br />water by the oil shale industry in the Rifle-De Beque area wonld re-
<br />sult in a net depletion in t.he flow of the Colorado River in the Rifle-
<br />De Reque area, by the year 1975, nmounting to 127,200 nCl"C-feet an-
<br />nually, or npproximately 175 second-feet of continuous flow.
<br />Since HJ35 the U.S. Geologie,~l Survey has operated a stream-gag-
<br />ina station on t.he Colorado River at. the "near" Cameo station. im-
<br />mediately upstream from the Grand Valley project diversion dam.
<br />In order to determine the need for storage to firm up the water re-
<br />quirements for the oil shale industry in calendar year 1975, as de-
<br />vp.loped by th~ firm of Cameron & .tones, the meau daily discharge ~
<br />of the Colorado R.iver at the "nearl~ ~ameo s~ntion for water year~
<br />1953, 1954, 1955, and 195G were cons](lered WIth respect to (1) the-
<br />mean daily demand for senior irrigat.ion and power rights rlo\,'i1stremn
<br />from Cameo; (2) antieipated increased inbasin consumpti\re lIse by
<br />irrigation unrler established e1aims decreed or in the proeess of ad-
<br />judieat.ion, and (3) inereased transmountain diversion from the Colo-
<br />rado River system above Cameo under decreed rights, it. was found
<br />that iu water year 1953 there were 57 days when no direct flow would
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