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<br />4 <br /> <br />5 <br /> <br />'.0 <br /> <br />portat,ions bav~ been used in the upper basin ubove t.he Narrows area. <br />The lower baSin has benefited (rom t.he use of return flows. j\.fosl <br />oC tbe return flows have been used by Tlleans of ground water witb- <br />drawnh, le~\'ing surface flows in the river about the ~ame 8.S pre- <br />Colorado-BIg Thompson comlit.ions, The J66,370 acres of land that <br />,,,:0 uld. obt.ain supplemental iITigation waLer are in Morgan, Logan, <br />Wasbmgton, and Serlgwick Counties, along t.be main stem of the lower <br />South Platte River in 110rtheasterl1 Col<imdo, All of the land is now <br />or has in tbe past been irrigated. <br />The South Platte River is the only silrnificant source of surface <br />wate~ for irrigation in the proposed N arrov.""S unit. Ground water also <br />constItutes n major SOllrce of water in tbe basin. Thirty-three irriga.tion <br />systems now serve lands ,\'ithin tbe Narrows area. Four offstream <br />reservoir:3 serve about 10 to 12 or the dit.ch aystems. None of t.he <br />reservoirs have sufficient ca.pacity to assure adequate su:pplies for the <br />systems served. The r~maining ditch s:.yst.ems rely on dlI'ect stream- <br />flows fo~ the.ir major SOllf(~e of suPp.!y: Water shortages occur every <br />Y~B.r, prlmarJly beea.use st.orage facilities are lacking on BOIDe of the <br />dltch systems, <br />The principal feature of tbe proposed development is the N arro"s <br />Dam and Reservoir to be constrllcted on the South Pla.tte River near <br />Fort MOI:g8:n, Colo. Aho proposed is ~be.acgu~ition and development <br />of the eXlStmg Jackson Lake ReservolI', U1cludmg Borne rehabilitation <br />of tbe dam, for recreation and fish and wildlife enhancement, Federal <br />construction of irrigation disLribution facilities would Dot be involved <br />since the water developed by the unit would be conveyed hy existing <br />systems. Hydroelectric power development was found to be economi- <br />caUy: i,nfeasible., Lack .of any forp.se"abJe requirement for additional <br />mUDlclpal and mdustnal water precludes the need for !;ucb facilities <br />at tbis time. <br /> <br />The wat.er supply tor t.he Na.rro\\"S unit would be derived from <br />regul~tion or S~LTr]us 6treamflow and from direct How water right~ <br />assoClated WIth JrrJgaLed lands to he acquired for the proposed Narrows <br />Dam and Reservoir. Irrigation storage capacity in Jackson Lake <br />Res~r\Toir would be transferred to tbe proposed -N arrov.'S Reservoir. <br />Project water stored in the propoged Narrows Reservoir would be <br />released either into the South Platte River through n. river outlet <br />works for delivery to existing dO\\11stream diversion works or through <br />a canal outlet works directly into the Fort Morgan Canal. <br />Supplemental water requirements for 23 of the ditches which serve <br />98.4 percent of the irrigahle land in the Lower South PJat.te Wat,e,. <br />Conservallcy District would be 178,000 acre-reet at. tbe river headgo.te <br />~as~d on the 1947-61 period of study. Reservoir operation studies <br />mdlcate that ~verage annual supplemental yields of 119,400 acre-reet <br />would be obtamed unuer the proposed plan of development. In addi- <br />tlOD, t.be divertible return flow from project deliveries would average <br />21,300 aere-feet, These sources would yield a total or 140,700 acre-feet <br />of supplemental water at the river headgates. The difference of 37,300 <br />acre-feet annually represents diversion shortages, which occur in 3 of <br />the 15 years of study, <br />The BlITeau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife has formulated a pIa" <br />for conservation and development of the fish and \dJdlife resources. It <br />would include ~inimum flow of 50 cubic feet per second in nnd public <br />aceese to 5,5 miles of the South Platte River immediately below the <br /> <br />proposed Narrows Reservoir, rehabilitation and stabilized operation <br />of t,he existing Jackson Lake Reservoir, development of a wildlife <br />manageJ?lent area, and a zOning plan for tbe proposed Narrows <br />ReservolI' . <br />The National Park Service has recommended a recreation plan that <br />would include four puhlic Use areas, Two of tbe areas would Oe <br />located adjacent to tbe proposed reservoir shoreline and would <br />function at all pool levels, a tbird area would be located below the <br />proposed dam and reservoir, and hhe fourt.h would be at Jaekson Lake <br />Reservoir. The Bureau (If Outdoor Recreation finds that the recreation <br />development recommended is consistent with the objectives of the <br />Colorado outdoor recrea.tjon plan. <br />The Corps of Engineers evaluated the flood control req,uirements <br />for t.he unit. It recornroended the provision of reserVOIr storage <br />capacity of 550,000 acre-feet lor downstream flood protection. or <br />that capacity, 75,000 acre-feet would be used jointly for flood control <br />and water conservation purposes. The dam would bave a river outlet <br />cB.[lacit..r ot 8,600 cubic feet per see-ond and a spillway capacity of <br />27,600 cubic feet per second, Operation of the reservoir for flood <br />control would be in accordance with regulations prescribed \'y the <br />Secretary of the Army, <br />In its preliminary report, Lhe Public Health Secvice indicated <br />that a high degree of waste treatment and a minimum st.rea.mflow <br />of 25 cubIC feet per second are needed below the proposed Narrows <br />Reservoir to ohtain the deaired water quulity, Normal re.~ervoir <br />seepage, tributary in110~"5, and return flows would provide more <br />than the desired flows, The Federal Water PoUution Control Admin- <br />istration (FWPCA) recommends that the operating procedw:es for <br />the unit provide for maintenance of that streamilo,,- buL finds Lhat. <br />the water would be usable for ot.her purposes rather than wa.ter <br />quality control as discussed later in this report in connection with <br />the alternative plan, As recommended hy the Public Health Service, <br />every effort v.ill be made in cooperation with the affected interests <br />to assure that development a..u.d a.cth"ities on the unit. wiJ1minimize <br />anv pot.ential public health hazards, <br />The Bureau of Mines advised that petroleum and natural gas are the <br />only significant mineral resources present in tbe dam and reservoiI' <br />area. A small field has shown a steady decline in production sinc.e <br />1956, In October 1965 only 34 of 108 welb that had been drilled <br />within the reservoir area at tbe flood control pool elevation were <br />still prod\lcin~. Considering a construction perIOd of 9 years, the <br />Bureau of Mrnes anticipate:s tbat all oil Rod gas wells in tbe site <br />will have been abandoned, <br />N; presented in the attached regional director's report, the estimated <br />Lota! construction cost of the Narrows Unit would be $61,820,000, <br />based on October 1965 price levels, Interest during construction <br />would add $4,918,600 making the total investment cost $66,738,600, <br />Opera.tion, maintena.nce, a.nd replacement. costs would total $216..500 <br />annually. The annual costs f>f the unit for economic analysis, wbich <br />includes the annual equivalent or tbe net project investment and <br />annual opera.tion, maintenance, and replacement costs, have been <br />computed to he $2,275,200, <br />The evalllated annual benefits to be derived by the several fUnctions <br />are as follows: . <br /> <br />'-J" <br /> <br />].- <br />(.;~ <br />