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<br />r-... <br />i"'- <br />...~ <br /> <br />INTRODUCTION AND GENERAL DESCRIPTION <br /> <br />General <br /> <br />The Silt Project is in Garfield County of west-central Colorado. <br /> <br />Farm lands are north of the Colorado River near the town of Silt (from <br /> <br />which the project gets its name) 20 miles west of Glenwood Springs and <br /> <br /> <br />65 miles east of Grand Junction. The City of Rifle joins farm lands <br /> <br />on the west. The project will provide a supplemental supply of water <br /> <br />for 5,560 acres of irrigated land and a full supply of water for 930 acres <br /> <br />of new arable land. In addition, 1,000 B.cre-feet of water will be made <br /> <br />available to the City of Rifle for culinar,y use. <br /> <br />Irrigation farming has been practiced in the project area since <br /> <br />it was first settled in 1882. An acute need of additional WQ.ter for <br /> <br />full irrigation has long been recognized by local water users and <br /> <br />Colorado State Officials. Studies by local interests of possible sources <br /> <br />of new irrigation supply of water have shown developments to be large <br /> <br />and too costly to be undertaken by private financing. <br /> <br />Rifle Creek, tributar,y to the Colorado River from the north with <br /> <br />confluence at Rifle, is the source of project water supply. The facilities <br /> <br />needed for the development of water and for the serving of the same to <br /> <br />irrigable land consist of a 10,000 acre-foot reservoir at the ~!le Gap <br />site on Rifle Creek, improvements to the 5~ mile long existing Gr~ss <br />Valley Canal, two short laterals in Dry Elk Valley, and provision for <br /> <br />low-head pumping at the Rifle Reservoir outlet chamber. <br /> <br />Climate <br /> <br />The climate is semi-arid. Farm land varies in elevation from 5500 <br /> <br />to 6500 feet and is surrounded on three sides by mountains which rise to <br />