Eastern Colorado Area Office
11056 W. County Rd 18E
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Eastern Colorado Area Office, Upcoming Events & Current News
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Colorado-Big Thompson is one of the most complex projects undertaken by Reclamation. It includes more than 100 water and power facilities which store, regulate and divert water from the west slope of the Rockies under the Continental Divide to 125 water user organizations and municipalities on the east slope. In 1990 the project provided irrigation water for about 632,000 acres of farmland which produced nearly $331 million worth of crops. It also provided municipal water to 445,000 people in communities of the South Platte River Basin. Its six powerplants are capable of producing 184 megawatts of power. The Fryingpan-Arkansas Project also diverts west slope water under the divide, in this case into the Arkansas River Valley on the east slope. The project has four storage reservoirs and one pump-back storage unit with power generating capacity of 200 megawatts. The terminal storage feature is Pueblo Dam and Reservoir near the city of Pueblo. The reservoir has become the most popular state-operated recreation spot in the state with more than 1.5 million visitors a year. The largest and most technologically-advanced fish hatchery in Colorado is located at the base of the dam. In 1990 the project provided supplemental irrigation for about 200,000 acres and provided municipal water to more than 376,000 people in the basin. High flows during the 1995 operational season resulted in the filling of all reservoirs. Reclamation has just finished negotiating and will soon execute the second round of water sales contracts for 17,000 acre-feet from Ruedi Reservoir. |
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As part of the Arkansas River Recovery Project, Reclamation maintains the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel and operates and maintains the Treatment Plant under an NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) discharge permit. The tunnel, constructed between 1943 and 1952 by the Bureau of Mines, has historically discharged water containing heavy metals to the Arkansas River. Reclamation assumed ownership of the tunnel in 1959. Operation of the treatment plant started in 1992. Reclamation is cooperating with other agencies to study the resulting water quality in the river. The Trinidad Project is a Federal project constructed, operated, and maintained by the Corps of Engineers. Because the Trinidad Project includes irrigation and municipal functions, Reclamation administers the repayment contract with the Purgatoire River Water District. Reclamation is beginning the second 10-year review of operating procedures, which involves water settlements between the States of Colorado and Kansas. The Narrows Unit was re-authorized for construction and operation in 1970. The project would provide water for supplemental irrigation, municipal and industrial uses, recreation, and fish and wildlife conservation and enhancement. Reclamation suspended activities on the Narrows Unit in the late 1980s. A portion of the land acquired for the project is currently being leased for agricultural use, while the remainder is managed for wildlife management and enhancement. |
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