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<br />opportunities, the local interests in Gunnison Coun~ should be given
<br />a voice.
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<br />The Taylor Park Dam is equipped with a penstock for use in produc-
<br />tion of hydroelectric energy at that dam, In making any agreement,
<br />mentioned in the foregoing paragraph, consideration should be given to
<br />the hydroelectric potentiality in the integration of storage facilities
<br />in the Gunnison River Basin.
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<br />10, That the storage in the Upper Gunnison River Basin, as a part
<br />of the Colorado River Storage Project, should include, and be limited
<br />to, 940,000 acre feet of water in the Curecanti Reservoir and approxi-
<br />mately 510,000 acre feet of water in the C~stal Reservoir, or a total
<br />of 1,450,008 acre feet; and that the Colorado River Storage plan, in
<br />addition to the above described 1,450,000 acre feet of total storage in
<br />the Upper Gunnison River Basin, should retain and include the proposed
<br />880,000 acre feet of storage at the Whitewater site in the Lower
<br />Gunnison River Basin, Such storage in the Upper Gunni.son River Basin
<br />should be included in the initial authorization for construction of pro-
<br />ject units of the Colorado River Storage Project. Construction of the
<br />Whitewater Unit should be delayed for later authorization, contra~ to
<br />the recommendations of the Bureau of Reclamation that it be the initial
<br />unit authorized for construction in the Gunnison River Basin, The
<br />reason for such delay in authorization of the Whitewater Unit is hereto-
<br />fore set out in this report, The above described storage units in the
<br />Gunnison River Basin (Curecanti - 940,000 acre feet; C~stal - 510,000
<br />acre-feet; and Vlhitewater - 880,000 acre-feet) constitute Plan E and
<br />will provide a total storage of 2,330,000 acre feet in that basin with
<br />an active storage capacity of 1,660,000 acre-feet,
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<br />Under this plan the proposed \Vhitewater Reservoir is an essential
<br />unit under Plan E, both to provide in the Gunnison River basin a more
<br />adequate contribution to the total Upper Colorado Hiver Basin storage
<br />for stream flow. regulation at Lee Fer~ in the light of the reduction
<br />of the capaci~ originally proposed for Curecanti Reservoir, This re-
<br />servoir in the final plan of development, as shown by the report of
<br />the Bureau of Reclamation, will provide water for both supplemental
<br />irrigation purposes and for new land, It is significant, too, that it
<br />may in the end aid materially the oil shale processing along the main
<br />stem of the Colorado River,
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<br />11. The tax revenue losses to Gunnison Ccunty and affected school
<br />districts, resulting from the inundation of land by the 2,500,000 acre-
<br />foot Curecanti Reservoir, would be from 2,99 per cent to 3.9 per cent
<br />of present collections. If the tax returns from the narrow-gage rail-
<br />road line between Gunnison and Sapinero are included, such losses would
<br />be between B .87 per cent and 10.4 per cent, Construction of the larger
<br />Curecanti Reservoir (2,500,000 acre-feet) or the smaller reservoirs
<br />under Plan E (940,000 acre-feet) would require the removal of this thir~y-
<br />mile stretch of narrow-gage railroad, It is now a branch line, connect-
<br />ing at Gunnison with the narrow-gage line from Crested Butte, Colorado
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