We're all looking for sustainable water supplies here on the rooftop of America. Reservoirs are a big part of meeting Colorado's water needs for the future. Here's an article about a new proposed reservoir on Orchard Mesa, from the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel. They write, "High above the Grand Valley, tucked into a natural depression, could one day sit what backers are tentatively calling Grand Valley Lake. A boater on its waters could look north into the face of Mount Garfield, east up the steep slopes of the mesa, while sunbathers and anglers could relax and cast along the beaches that would surround it. At 2,000 acres, the lake would cover more than 10 times the surface area of Highline Lake and be nearly two-thirds the size of Dillon Lake above Silverthorne. Backers of the lake admittedly have much work to do before water can be diverted from the Gunnison River into the depression through which Sink Creek flows, on occasion. They'll begin the process toward that goal Monday, when they present preliminary plans for Grand Valley Lake to the Colorado River Basin roundtable, where they hope to inspire enough interest to move forward to the Gunnison River roundtable and eventually to the interbasin compact roundtable...
"Early supporters include [Retired engineer Don] Clay, [State Representative Josh] Penry, Ute Water Conservancy District Director Harley Jackson, Orchard Mesa Irrigation District Manager Rita Crumpton, and Jim Carter, vice chairman of the Colorado River Basin roundtable. Grand Valley Lake would be filled with water taken from the Gunnison River about four miles upstream from Austin, well above the junction with the Uncompahgre River, which carries high concentrations of selenium and heavy metals. Water as pure as that of Blue Mesa Reservoir would flow 60 gravity-fed miles to Grand Valley Lake, which would sit at an elevation of about 5,000 feet on Orchard Mesa. Water also could be pumped up to the canal, backers said. The water stored below Grand Mesa would be used for recreation, domestic and industrial use and generation of hydroelectricity. The lake also would feed into the Colorado River, providing water for four species of endangered fish, eliminating the need for releases from Green Mountain and Ruedi reservoirs for endangered fish in the 15-mile reach of the Colorado through the Grand Valley, backers said. That's something Grand and Summit county water interests have long demanded, [Don] Clay said...
"Grand Valley Lake also would have the additional advantage of not displacing agricultural land. It's entirely on land administered by the Bureau of Land Management. There is, however, some chance farm or ranch land could be affected by the canal, backers said. Still, the lake would allow Mesa County to maintain its agricultural lands by providing additional water to the valley, thus forestalling the day when irrigation water is converted to municipal use. Under current supplies with a 3 percent population growth rate, the valley's last agricultural water would run out by 2055, converted to domestic and other uses, the backers said. Grand Valley Lake would hold about 195,000 acre-feet of water, some 65.5 billion gallons. Dillon, by comparison, holds about 254,000 acre-feet of water. On the eve of the first public airing of the proposal, it will likely be years before water rushes into Grand Valley Lake, if indeed it ever does, Penry said."
Category: Colorado Water
7:40:34 AM 
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