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. . with the initial appropriation, the Bureau of Reclamation began extensive subsurface investigations at the Narrows site. As a result of the criticism of the geologic conditions, a board of consultants was constituted to appraise the suitability of the damsite. The board concluded that a safe dam could be constructed at the proposed site. The state of Colorado also retained the services of Rov~A J. TiptQn and Associates, an engineering firm with internationaf standing, to conduct an independent investigation pertaining to the most suitable reservoir site. That firm subsequently recommended that the reservoir be constructed at the Narrows site. However, no local water conservancy district was organized to sponsor and operate the proposed project. Because of lack of support from local agencies, the state of Colorado withheld its approval of the project and activities were suspended. In 1958, a group of residents from the South Platte River Valley, representing areas extending generally from just below Denver to the state line, appeared before the Colorado Water Conservation Board and requested the board to reinitiate studies leading towards the con- struction of channel storage on the South Platte River. The board agreed to this request and provided funds in subsequent years to the extent of about $200,000 for further studies of channel storage on the river. Congress also provided funds to the Bureau of Reclamation for a reanaly- sis of the project. The project reanalysis focused upon two potential reservoir sites, one being the original Narrows site and the other being a site some distance upstream in Weld County. The Colorado Water Conservation Board~ployed two independent consultinq'firms to evaluate the compara- t~ve land costs of the two sites and to evaluate the com~arative aeoloaic con~itions and the resulting construction costs. The state water board also appointed a steering committee consisting of citizen representatives from the South Platte Valley to assist in the project evaluation. During this same period a petition was circulated among the residents of the Lower South Platte Valley requesting the organization of a water conser- vancy district in accordance with the laws of the state of Colorado. That petition, with the requisite number of signatures, was subsequently presented to the District Court. In 1964, the Lower South Platte Water Conservancy District was officially created by court order. By the late summer of 1964, all facets of the project had been explored to the point where it was again submitted to the Colorado Water Conservation Board for policy decision. At a public meeting held in Fort Morgan on September 12, 1964, the board reached and approved the following conclusions: 1. That further site selection investigations would be fruitless. -3-