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<br />.. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />2990 <br /> <br />- 3 - <br /> <br />The greatest local negative benefit ,',ould be the taking out of <br />production a substantial acreage of irrigated land in the -,;eldona Valley. <br /> <br />The plan proposed by the Bureau of Reclamation at the time the <br />Colorado Water Conservation Board suggested a restudy, consisted of a <br />conventional type of dam acro~s t~e river at the Narrows site which <br />would provide a reservoir v'ith a capacity of from 600,000 a.f. to 800,000 <br />a.f., a spillway of sClfficiant capacity to pass the spillway design flood, <br />and a Dood channel eX',en..,inii from Bijou Creek to t he reservoir. The <br />construction and maintcl:aO'lCe of such a flood chanO'lel on 3ijou Creek to <br />the reservoir v.ould be 'fer); dif:ic-cllt and very expensive. After the <br />problem was reopened for study, the present plan I have described above <br />was gr~dually evolved. It wa~ felt that. it was cheaper to construct a <br />dam sufficiently hiGh to provide the 818,000 acre-feet of surcharge capacity <br />to contain the spillcay design floJa thaO'l it ,;ould be to conctruct a spill~ay <br />to pass such flood. The prescn'o plan Ylould eliminate the expensive flood <br />channel betVleen Bijou Creek and the South Flatte. It is my opinion that <br />the plan noVl proposed by the Bureau of Recl.~:nation is sound from an engi- <br />neerin:; appl'oac~; the dOom is located at the 'best site, and the best type <br />of structure for the site has been ~elected. <br /> <br />Independent water-supply studies nade be.' the engineering staff of <br />the Colorado liatar Conservation Board disclosed that the water-supply <br />studies made by the U. S. Bureau of Reclamation are on the conser',ative <br />side. The factor of safety allo1led by the Bureau to take care of opera- <br />tion losses is believed to be ampl,-,. The Bureau's last studies also Tlere <br />based upon the supposition that decrees would be entered by the appro- <br />1Jriate district COUl'ts for multiple fillings of th,-, reservoirs in the <br />South Platte Basin. <br /> <br />Local irrigation interests should have no fears with respect to the <br />interference with the uses of water under direct flm7 decrees by the <br />operation of the Narrm.;s !leservoir. The operation of the reservoir <br />would be under the State EO'lgineer and eno~gh water would be required to <br />pass through the rese:'vc.1.1' to take care of the requirements below the <br />reservoir under existing ,'rat.er rights. <br /> <br />It is understooC: th,.t the adjudication of multiple fillings for South <br />Platte reservoirs is in :'l'ocess. If such adjudications are consummated, <br />the owners of such reservoirs should have no fears concerning adverse <br />effect by the operation 01 the Narrows Reservoir. <br /> <br />With .respect to interference TQth the operation of potential <br />reservoirs on tributaries of the Sout~ Platte !liver ,"hich would be in- <br />tended to r;:ake u~eable some of the flood ria tel's Yihich na.1 cross the <br />