Future developments outlined for Gunnison River Basin include thirteen projects to irrigate 91,530 acres, produce 176 million kilowatt-hours annually, and serve other purposes. Transmountain diversion projects would export 853,000 acre-feet of water annually to the Rio Grande and Arkansas Rivers.

Tomichi Creek project. This project would bring into production 3,100 acres of arable dry land and provide supplemental water for 8,300 acres of partially irrigated grass lands along Tomichi Creek, extending upstream from Parlin, Colo., which is 10 miles southeast of Gunnison. A 10,000 acre-foot reservoir at the Upper Tomichi Creek site and a 22-mile canal to reach part of the area would be required. In the event an export diversion project is constructed which would divert water from other tributaries of the Gunnison River into the Tomichi Creek Basin en route to the Arkansas Basin, a larger acreage in the Tomichi Creek Basin could be irrigated.

A

Cochetopa Creek project.-Twenty-five miles south of Gunnison along Cochetopa Creek, a principal tributary of Tomichi Creek, are 3,900 acres of irrigable land and 4,700 acres of irrigated land requiring supplemental water. full irrigation supply could be obtained for these lands with a 5,500 acre-foot reservoir at the Banana Ranch site on Cochetopa Creek and a 2,500 acre-foot reservoir at the McDonough site on Los Pinos Creek, a tributary. A new canal would also be required to reach part of the area.

Ohio Creek project. High lands along Ohio and Antelope Creeks north of Gunnison, Colo., suitable for growing native grasses would be irrigated by this project. About 3,470 acres of new land would be furnished a full supply of water, and 11,300 acres in need of more water, a supplemental supply. Two reservoirs would be required: Lake Brennan (capacity to be enlarged from 376 acre-feet to 3,000 acre-feet) on Anthracite Creek, a tributary of

North Fork River, and Castle Creek (6,000 acre-feet capacity) on a tributary of Ohio Creek. A 2.5-mile canal to carry storage releases from Lake Brennan to Ohio Creek and canals to reach the new land would be needed.

Lake Fork project.-On Lake Fork of the Gunnison River 2 miles south of Lake City, Colo., is a potential power site. The development would include a dam near the outlet of Lake San Cristobal creating a reservoir of 29,800 acre-feet capacity and a conduit 2.85 miles long, connecting the reservoir with a power plant in Wade Gulch. Nearby on Henson Creek a low diversion dam at Hidden Treasure Mill would divert the flow into another conduit 2.45 miles long. The flow of both Lake Fork and Henson Creek would be available for power production under a static head of 308 feet. The power plant installed capacity would be 6,000 kilowatts and the annual firm production 12 million kilowatt-hours.

Sapinero project.-Potential transmountain diversions from the headwaters of the Gunnison River would require a reservoir for re-regulation of the flow before it enters the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. A dam at a site near the mouth of Sapinero Creek could also be utilized for power production. A power plant could be constructed at the dam with an installed capacity of 18,000 kilowatts capable of producing 100 million kilowatt-hours each year.

Fruitland Mesa project.-Crystal Creek, flowing southwest joins the Gunnison River about 4 miles upstream from the intake portal of the Gunnison Tunnel of the Uncompahgre Reclamation project. Its waters are diverted northward to lands on the Fruitland Mesa south and west of Crawford, Colo. An additional supply of about 35,000 acre-feet yearly could be brought to Crystal Creek from Curecanti and Sapinero Creeks to the east by means of 30 miles of canal and 3 miles of tunnel. Stream regulation would be provided either in the basins of origin, on Crystal Creek, or by the enlargement of the existing Gould or Fruitland Reservoirs, supplied by a canal from Crystal Creek. A full water supply would be furnished 7,650 acres of new land and 9,590 acres now irrigated would receive supplemental water.

Smith Fork project. Construction of a 4-mile feeder canal from Smith Fork to supply a 15,000 acre-foot reservoir at the Grand View site south across the creek from Crawford, Colo., and the enlargement and extension of existing distribution canals would make possible the irrigation of 4,230 acres of new land and provide supplemental water to 9,220 acres now insufficiently irrigated, all in the vicinity of Crawford.

Paonia project.-Construction of a dam to store 14,000 acre-feet of water at the Spring Creek site on East Muddy Creek, a tributary of the North Fork of Gunnison River, and the enlargement of a 35-mile distribution canal would bring water to 2,000 acres of new land and supplement present inadequate supplies for 12,700 acres located north of North Fork near Hotchkiss, Colo. This plan is a modi

fication of the Paonia project as previously authorized for

construction.

Minnesota project.-This project would require only a 3,000 acre-foot reservoir at the Beaver site on Minnesota Creek to supply water to 2,600 acres of partially irrigated land and 200 acres of undeveloped land located south of North Fork River near Paonia.

Leroux Creek project.-A reservoir with a capacity of 10,000 acre-feet at the Castle site on Deaver Gulch supplied by a 1-mile canal from Leroux Creek would provide water for 3,900 acres of dry land located on Redlands Mesa north of North Fork River near its confluence with Gunnison River. A service canal 8 miles long would be required.

Grand Mesa project.-Currant, Surface, and Tongue Creeks join the Gunnison River a few miles downstream from its confluence with the North Fork. Surplus flows of these streams could provide supplemental water for 18,200 acres of fertile land now irrigated and a full supply for 5,200 acres of good arable land. Construction required would include a dam to store 12,000 acrefeet of water at the Gorsuch Reservoir site on Currant Creek, a 19-mile feeder canal, and a 20-mile distribution canal.

In addition, Eggleston Lake on the headwaters of Forked Tongue Creek, which now stores 2,700 acrefeet, would be enlarged to store 3,700 acre-feet.

Ouray project. The Uncompahgre River, a tributary of the Gunnison River, heads in the San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado and in the first 27 miles of its course falls 3,200 feet.

The best power sites are in a canyon near Ouray, Colo. A few miles south of the town an earth dam could be constructed on Red Mountain Creek at Ironton Park creating a reservoir of 21,900 acre-feet to regulate the flow of the creek and to receive the flow of the Uncompahgre River diverted around the mountain side in a conduit.

A power plant down the canyon would receive water from the reservoir under a head of 1,130 feet. Below this plant the Uncompahgre River would be diverted to a second power plant at Ouray where a power head of 750 feet could be utilized. The third and final stage of the power development would be a power plant below Ouray at Bachelor Switch with a head of 475 feet. The total installed capacity of the entire development would be 16,000 kilowatts and the annual firm production 64 million kilowatt-hours.

Regulated power water releases below the Bachelor Switch power plant could be diverted in summer for the irrigation of 9,330 acres of new land and 2,340 acres in need of supplemental water on Log Hill Mesa, northwest of Ridgeway, Colo. A diversion dam and a canal 37 miles long would be required. The Ironton Park Reservoir would also provide some flood control downstream in Uncompahgre Valley.

Redlands project.-Lands on the Redlands Mesa west of Grand Junction, Colo., are irrigated by pumping from the Gunnison River with lifts ranging from 100 to 300 feet. An extension of present facilities within reasonable pump lifts would make possible the irrigation of 1,600 acres of new land.

Potential export diversions.-The Arkansas River Basin and to a small extent the Rio Grande Basin could receive water conveyed across the Continental Divide from headwaters of the Gunnison River. With works to collect and divert the water, including pumps with lifts up to 1,000 feet, and reservoirs from which to replace water required for irrigation and power generation in the Colorado River Basin, the following exportations could be made:

Colorado River between Gunnison and Green Rivers

Possibilities for irrigation development in this part of the basin include four projects along the Dolores River, principal tributary of the Colorado River in this area, and two along lesser tributaries. Two main stream power potentialities are also described. Power development possibilities are believed to exist on the Dolores River and its tributaries but have not been investigated. In addition, three diversion projects would benefit lands in the adjoining San Juan division of the Colorado River Basin.

Saucer Valley project.-Disappointment Creek is the first stream to join Dolores River after it flows into San Miguel County. Along the creek are 1,300 acres of irrigated land requiring supplemental water and 5,000 acres of undeveloped land in need of a full supply. This area could be served by a 14,000 acre-foot reservoir at the Custer site on Spring Creek with a feeder canal from Disappointment Creek. Two new service canals would also be required.

Nucla project. Supplemental water is needed for 5,800 acres of irrigated land located north of San Miguel River near Nucla, Colo. A full supply of water could bring into production 5,700 acres of dry land situated

northwest of the town. Water necessary for all of these lands could be provided by construction of dams to store 20,000 acre-feet at the Finch site on Horsefly Creek and 5,000 acre-feet at the Cottonwood site on Cottonwood Creek, and by enlargement and extension of the Colorado Cooperative canal. Both reservoirs would be on tributaries of the San Miguel River. Future water supply studies may show that water from these reservoirs could replace water from other tributaries now used on lands within the project area, thus releasing water from those tributaries for use on lands south of the river in the San Miguel project.

San Miguel project.-A new aqueduct, heading on the south bank of the San Miguel River, 4 miles downstream from Vance Junction could continue west past Fall, Saltado, and Beaver Creeks to the Miramonte and Stone Cabin Reservoirs. The aqueduct could divert natural flows of intercepted streams, including some water now used near Nucla, providing replacement storage can be had at the future Finch and Cottonwood Reservoirs of the Nucla project. Miramonte Reservoir on Naturita Creek would have a capacity of 63,000 acre-feet. Water released from Miramonte Reservoir would supplement present supplies for 14,100 acres and irrigate 33,900 acres of new land in the Dry Creek and Gypsum Creek Valleys and near Norwood and Redvale. Stone Cabin Reservoir to provide 12,000 acre-feet of storage capacity on Dry Creek could store natural and return flows of Dry Creek in addition to that supplied from the feeder canal for use on 7,000 acres of new land along East Paradox Creek. The Gurley Reservoir on Anderson Creek would be enlarged by 7,800 acre-feet to a total capacity of 11,000 acre-feet and its existing feeder canal would be enlarged and extended to Fall Creek. The enlarged reservoir could serve the same area as Miramonte Reservoir.

West Paradox project.-West Paradox Creek originates in Utah and flows southeast to join the Dolores River in Colorado. In its valley are 3,900 acres of irrigated land in need of supplemental water and 5,500 acres of arable dry land. At the present time high ditches bring water from nearby streams to West Paradox Basin where storage is provided at the 2,000 acre-foot Buckeye Reservoir. Full development would require present collecting ditches to be enlarged and extended to bring Taylor Creek into the system. The capacity of Buckeye Reservoir would need to be increased from 2,000 to 9,500 acre-feet and a new service canal constructed.

Dewey project.-The Dewey Dam site is in Utah on the Colorado River 3 miles below the mouth of Dolores River and 16 miles southeast of Cisco, Utah. A dam to raise the present river water surface from an elevation of 4,085 feet up to a maximum surface of 4,405 feet would create a reservoir with a total capacity of 8,200,000 acre-feet and an active capacity of 6,300,000 acre-feet. The reservoir would extend 55 miles up the Colorado River and 20 miles

up the Dolores River with 110 square miles of lake surface and a maximum width at the lower end of 12 miles. The Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad and highways US 50 and Utah 128 would be relocated out of the flooded area. The town of Cisco, population 53, lies entirely within the reservoir site but if relocated on the reservoir shore line and on both a railroad and a transcontinental highway, it should have ample opportunity to become a resort center. The development would be multiple purpose for silt retention, flood control, recreation, hold-over storage for river regulation, and power production. A power plant at the dam would have an installed capacity of 140,000 kilowatts and could produce 797 million kilowatt-hours of firm energy annually.

Moab project.-A dam on the Colorado River, just above the highway bridge on US 160 at Moab, Utah, would back the river up to the Dewey Dam site. The present stream elevation at the site is 3,947 feet and the reservoir would have a surface elevation of 4,085 feet and a capacity of 183,000 acre-feet. The town of Moab would not be inundated. The power plant installed at the dam would have a capacity of 60,000 kilowatts and an annual firm production of 344 million kilowatt-hours. The development would be multiple purpose for silt retention, flood control, recreation, hold-over storage, and power development.

Pack Creek project.-Along the lower channel of Mill Creek and continuing up Pack Creek, its tributary, is a 10-mile strip of land which includes 3,150 acres of good soil. Only 1,950 acres, mostly in the downstream portion near Moab, Utah, are irrigated, and these require supplemental water some years. A reservoir of 3,000 acre-feet capacity at a site on Mill Creek located just upstream from the land could store water to supplement existing supplies for the lower portion of the strip and to replace Pack Creek flows which could then be used entirely on the upper part. Also by driving a tunnel 640 feet through a ridge, Mill Creek flows above the reservoir could be diverted to augment the water of Pack Creek in irrigating the upper lands.

Hatch Creek project. Hatch Creek, known also as Cain Spring Creek and Lockhard Creek, flows northwest and enters the Colorado River 12 air-line miles southwest of Moab. On two of its tributaries, Coyote and East Canyon Creeks, are two promising reservoir sites which have been surveyed by the State engineer of Utah. Below each site are strips of undeveloped and unclassified land which are considered arable by local interests. Water supplies have not been determined but it is probable that 8,500 acre-feet of water could be stored on Coyote Creek and 2,500 acre-feet on East Canyon Creek to supplement natural flows for irrigating about 4,000 acres of land.

Potential diversions to San Juan division.-Present diversions of water from the Dolores River to lands in the

San Juan River Basin, averaging 108,000 acre-feet annually could be increased 38,000 acre-feet by expansion of the existing Montezuma Valley project, and 120,600 acre-feet by construction of the Dolores project, including a dam to impound 185,000 acre-feet at the McPhee site on the Dolores River. Reservoir losses would consume approximately 6,000 acre-feet, reducing actual delivery under the Dolores project to 114,600 acre-feet.

The potential Blanding project would divert water from the head of Indian Creek, the lowest tributary of the Colorado River in the Grand division, to lands in the San Juan division. A 1-year record of stream flow (1928) indicates that an annual diversion of 1,800 acrefeet might be made.

Subdivision and project

These three projects are more fully described as potential developments in the San Juan division.

Summary

The following tables summarize the plan for ultimate development of the Grand division, showing potential projects and their multiple purposes, estimated costs, potential reservoirs and their capacities, new lands to be irrigated, areas to be furnished a supplemental supply of irrigation water, potential diversions to the San Juan Basin in the Colorado River Basin, potential export diversions, and estimated amounts of water to be consumed and exported by States.

Colorado

Muddy Creek

__do_.

__do_.

..do.

__do_.

_do_

_do_.

_do_

_do_

do_

do..

Capitol Creek. Woody Creek. Silt..

West Divide.

Hunter Mesa

Roan Creek.

Collbran..

Grand Valley Extension.

Cisco-Thompson_.

Gunnison River

Tomichi Creek.

Cochetopa Creek.

Ohio Creek....

Lake Fork.

Sapinero

Fruitland Mesa_

Smith Fork_

Paonia.

Utah and Colorado...

Colorado

I, F

Leroux Creek.

Grand Mesa.

Ouray

וויי

820, 000

Redlands.

_do_

Gunnison River..

I, F

367, 000