WSP07644 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

, ,~ ~~ ,', q...jU' resource" for recreational purposes except for a physical reduction in the water area to be available for on-water activities. Since construction Ruedi visitations were as follows: . Year Visitor days (12-hour days) y Number of visitors 2/ 1970 80,800 279,100 1971 101,800 338,~00 1972 10~,337 3115,611 1973 98,250 266,105 Between 50 and 60 percent of the visits to Ruedi are for sightseeing. Total on-land activities, plus camping and picnicking, amount to 80 to 90 percent of total Ruedi visits leaving the balance for actual on-water activities. Therefore, the secondary impacts on other reservoirs are anticipated to be minor in terms of absorbing displaced on-water recreationists from Ruedi. All Project reservoirs will experience water fluctuations to meet irrigation, municipal-industrial, hydroelectric power, and minimum flow requirements on both sides of the Continental Divide. There are no reservoirs in the vicinity of Ruedi, The closest are Turquoise Lake, Clear Creek, and Twin Lakes. All are Project features which were considered by the Forest Service and National Park Service in evaluating recreational resources of the Project. . II. Comment - Also, we note that the statement makes no mention of the proposed Basalt Project just downstream from Ruedi. This proposal would provid~ municipal and domestic water to the rapidly growing Roaring Fork Valley and irrigation water for privately owned ranchettes and farmlands in the area. Much of the water would be made available by storage .r.'~ll2:as~o f::-~::: R~edi ~PRe~voir thus increasing drawdown there. Since operation 'of Basalt could be a contributing factor in an eventual decline of recreation use at Ruedi, discussion of their interrelationship should be included in the final statement. Response: Ruedi Reservoir was authorized to provide replacement storage for water diverted from the West Slope to the East Slope of Colorado, and to provide water for future developments in western Colorado. As discussed in the preceding response to effectsof draw- down on recreation, the Project authorizing act and the operating principles acknowledged the possible development of the Basalt Project and Project planning considered the use of water stored in Ruedi Reservoir for that purpose. Forest Service planning considered this impact in evaluating the recreational facilities for Ruedi Reservoir. The visitation calculations reflect the utilization of the active conservation pool during the life expectancy of the Project with a possible 200 feet fluctuation of water surface. XI-246 1/ Forest Service furnished visitation data in 12-hour days/activity 2/ Reclamation converted visitor days to visits per recreation activity. The figures presented are totals. .