WSP06830 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

3992 RUEDI D."'! AND RESERVOIR, COLO. 43 "\ Cattle Oreek area The arable lands of the Catl.le Creek area are located principally on high mesas adjacent to the valleys of Cattle Creek and the Roaring Fork River. The presently irrigated lands are devoted to the prodlle- tion of hay, pasture, and other livestock feed crops. Cattle Creek, It tributary of the Roaring Fork Hi\'er that drains the western end of Red Table MOllntain, is the principal source of water presently used for the irrigation of about 5,500 acres of land. Eil'ht small resen'oirs with a combine,l capacit.y of about 4,000 acre-teet have been developed by the locnl irrigators and a diteh has been con- structed to import irrigation wat.er from Cottonwood Creek, it tribu- tnry of the Colorado River abm'e t.he mouth of the. Hoaring Fork J{in~J'. Even with the im}?ort.ations and the available storage l'egulut.ion, water ShOl'tflges tire estImated to average over gO percent of the ideal 1'(>.- quirements of the irrigated lands. Tllere are also sizable, acreages of arable Innds W"it.hin the area that are. undeveloped a.t the present t.ime because of an inadetl\mte water supply. The plan for irrigat.ion de\"elopment of lands in tile Catt,le Creek area as present.eel in the Cliffs-Divide project reconnaissance report in\'oh'ed importation of additional water from 15 sma.II tribntal'ies of Fryingpan Creek and from Cott.onwood ano East Brush Creeks, both of which are tributaries of the Colorado River. A small quant.ity of Cattle Creek water now surplus to existing wnter rights could ha.\"e also been utilized. The new water supply \Vould ha\'e provided full irrigation seryice to I::~,740 acres of undeveloped lands and supple. mental inigation service to the !)~;jOO acres of prese.ntly irrigated lands. ,Vith an allowance of G percent for nonproductive land useS the total productive nl'cn. wus estima.t.ed at 18,ODO ac.res. Construction features of the plan included a 13,700-acre-foot reser- voir, a. 42-mile conveyance c:1nal~ two feeder callaIs with combined length of about. 6 miles, nnd a 16-mile distribut.ion canal. The plan also includr.d enlargement of three existing canals and a reservOir. "'Vater opel'Ht.ion st.udies were based 011 an annual diversion require- ment of 3 acre-feet per acre of productive land. It was estimated that an average of 40,400 acre-feet of ad(litionnl water would have been made- rtxailable annually for irrigation use and the ll'vel'nge shul'tfl~e of irrigflt.ioIl wnter would have been 7 percent of tJ\e diversion re. quirement. It WIIS antieip"ted t.hat the irrigable lands of the area would con- tinue to be rlewted principally to t.he production of li,"estock feeds. Estinwtes of pa.yment capacity and irrigation bellefits would neces..: sarily be based on an eCOllom~r of t.his t.ype. To serve the Cattle Creek area with irrigat.ion \"\ftter from Rlledi Re::eI'\'oir it would be neceSsarv to const.rnct about 4:-3 miles of main conduit and service ea.naJs together with adequate latel'al a.nd dra-in- age systems. It, would not be necessary to COllstruct any new rC'servoirs rllld t,he p,nlal'gement of exist.illg' l'esen"oiJ's mft)" be found IlllneCeSs.:lry. Extensire f~l:d surveys and adequate pl:tn formulat.ion st,udies will be required ~ completely outline the extent of the construction fea- tures that would be needed. "'\Vithout, a. large amount, of dead-stornge capacity in nlledi neseI'" \'/)ir, it. might. be infeasible to deJin>l' water diredly from TIuedi Reservoir to some of the higller lands pn>\"iollsly considel'ed for direct ~ \ , .