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<br />I. SUMMARY <br />This USDA salinity control study was carried out under Public Law 93-320 <br />the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act (88 Stat. 266) dated June 24, <br />1974. Section 201(c) of the Act directs the Secretary of the Interior, the <br /> <br />Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Secretary of <br /> <br />Agriculture to cooperate and coordinate their activities effectively to <br /> <br />carry out objectives of Title II of the Act as the basin states continue <br /> <br />developing their compact apportioned water. The Lower Gunnison Unit is one <br /> <br />of four irrigation source control units designated in the Act for expedi- <br /> <br />tious completion of a planning report as a means to implement the salinity <br /> <br />control policy adopted for the Colorado River. <br /> <br />The U.S. Department of Agriculture has two primary purposes in the Lower <br /> <br />Gunnison study: (1) to determine the contribution of salt loading from the <br /> <br />irrigated farm land and privately owned upland areas; and (2) to determine <br />the opportunity for reducing salt loading through improvements in irrigation <br /> <br />systems and practices, and reducing erosion and sediment delivery from the <br /> <br />privately owned uplands. <br /> <br />The scope of the study was limited to inventorying and analyzing current <br /> <br />onfarm irrigation systems and practices on about 107,000 acres of irrigated <br /> <br /> <br />land and 320 miles of off-farm canals and laterals. Results of these <br /> <br /> <br />analyses were expanded to be representative of the approximately 171,000 <br /> <br /> <br />acres of irrigated land and about 485 miles of off-farm canals and laterals <br /> <br />in the Lower Gunnison and Uncompahgre River Valleys. Canals and laterals <br /> <br />that are within the Uncompahgre project area are being evaluated separately <br /> <br />by the Water and Power Resources Service and are not included in the 485 <br /> <br />miles mentioned above. <br /> <br />Coordination of study activities leading to analysis of the salt loading <br /> <br />problem in the Lower Gunnison Unit was accomplished through a Multi- <br /> <br />I-I <br /> <br />001196 <br />