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<br />SUMMARY OF SALT LOADING AND POTENTIAL REDUCTION <br />ATTRIBUTED TO IRRIGATED AGRICULTURE IN THE LOWER GUNNISON UNIT 1/ <br /> <br />Onfarm: <br />Head Ditch Seepage <br />Deep Percolation <br />Tailwater Ditch Seepage <br />Subtotal Onfarm <br /> <br />Length of <br />Lateral <br />(miles) <br /> <br />Salt Loading <br />Quantity Potential Reduction <br />(-----------tons/year----------) <br /> <br />Source <br /> <br />210,000 <br />135,000 <br />95,000 <br />440,000 <br /> <br />160,000 <br />115,000 <br />60,000 <br />335,000 <br /> <br />Off-Farm 1/ <br />Small Laterals 2/ <br />Large Laterals 3/ <br />Main Canals 4/ <br />Subtotal Off-Farm <br /> <br />135 <br />210 <br />140 <br />485 <br /> <br />25,000 <br />11 0 ,000 <br />65,000 <br />200,000 <br /> <br />20,000 <br />90,000 <br />55,000 <br />165,000 5/ <br /> <br />Total 485 640,000 1/ 500,000 <br />1/ Does not include data for laterals within the Uncompahgre Project Area <br />being studied by the Water and Power Resources Service which contribute <br />about 200,000 tons annually. <br />2/ Small laterals carry flow rate less than 20 cubic feet per second (cfs). <br />3/ Large laterals carry flow rates between 20 and 100 cfs. <br />4/ Main canals carry flow rate greater than 100 cfs. <br />5/ Reduction of this magnitude is not cost effective. <br /> <br />Local benefits resulting from these improvements will be reflected in <br /> <br />reduced costs of production, improved irrigation systems and increased crop <br /> <br />yields. However, these improvements also will adversely impact up to 13,200 <br /> <br />acres of the 14,800 acres of irrigation-induced wetland that have developed <br /> <br />as a result of introducing irrigation into the valley. There are an addi- <br /> <br />tional 24,800 acres of riparian wetlands that will not be adversely <br /> <br />impacted. The loss of irrigation induced wetlands can be mitigated by up- <br /> <br />grading the habitat value on as much as 18,300 acres of wetlands otherwise <br /> <br />undisturbed by proposed program actions and by developing 3,700 acres of new <br /> <br />wetland habitat if Alternative 8 is implemented. <br /> <br />This report describes eight candidate plans that address four concepts <br /> <br />for reducing the river's salt load. These concepts are: a continuation of <br /> <br />ongoing programs (no accelerated action alternative), onfarm <br /> <br />irrigatio C 1198 <br /> <br />1-3 <br />