WSP06916 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

..,'-. r"'(T ~) .;., ;Jj . GENERAL DISCUSSIONS BASALT PROJECT soon exceeded the late season streamflows so that some small reservoirs were constructed. usually by individuals or partnership enterprises. The major step in storage development occurred about 1900 with the con- struction of the Missouri Heir~ts Reservoir by a private development company. The reservoir is supplied from Cattle Creek through the Moun- tain Meadow Canal. With a capacity of 2,800 acre-feet, the Missouri Heights Reservoir is by far the largest of the eight existing reservoirs which have a combined capacity of approximately !~.200 acre-feet. Most of the irrigation water is distributed by numerous small ditches that have been constructed by individuals or cooperative companies. Approxi- mately 6.127 acres in the Cattle Creek. Carbondale. and Sopris areas are presently irrigated. Transportation and other public facilities Colorado State Highway No. 82, which is surfaced and well maintained. bisects the project area. United States HighWay No.6 and 24, a trans- continental route. passes through Glenwood Springs. Most farm-to-market roads are graveled and graded. Carbondale and Basalt are served by a branch line of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad which connects with the main line at Glenwood Springs. Regularly scheduled commercial airline service is not provided to the project area. . The Mountain States Telephone and Telegraph Company and the Western Union Telegraph Company provide communication service for the area. Electric power is furnished to Carbondale and immediately adjacent agri- cultural lands by the Public Service Company of Colorado. The remainder of the area. including Basalt. is furnished electric service by the Holy Cross Electric Association. a Rural Electrification Association coopera- tive. whiCh distributes electrical power purchased from other agencies. Need for Additional Irrigation Development . The most urgent need of the project area is for an additional and dependable water supply to stabilize agriculture, improve the economic status of the farmers and. in turn. the service industries, and to pro- vide opportunities for economic expansion. With the small reservoir storage capacIty now existing, late-season water shortages occur almost every year and average 31 percent of the ideal annual diversion require- ment for the presently irrigated land. Drought years such as 1954. 1955. and 1956 caused the farmers particular hardships. The uncertain produc- tion of winter livestock feed on irrigated land often results in hardship to livestock operators and upsets a normal balance with the range feed supply available in other seasons. Over a period of years many farms have been consolidated into larger units through sale or leasing arrange- ments. A gradual reduction in grazing permits on Federal lands and the inability of the farms, because of inadequate late-season irrigation 9