GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. - The Bureau of Reclamation announced today that construction is complete, except for seeding this coming fall, on Orchard Mesa Irrigation District’s 74 acre-foot regulating reservoir on Orchard Mesa, Colo. The $8.86 million reservoir was built for the District on behalf of the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program and is the latest feature of the District’s Canal System’s Improvement Project.
Major features of the project include: construction of the regulating reservoir, upgraded check structures in canals, installation of remote monitoring systems, canal interconnect pipeline, improved operational procedures, and potential replacement of some open earth laterals with pressurized pipeline.
The improvements will provide a more reliable water supply throughout the canal system and conserve approximately 17,000 acre-feet of water per year. This water will also benefit endangered fishes, wildlife and river recreation in the important “15-Mile" reach of the Colorado River downstream of Palisade, Colorado.
A media tour of the reservoir will be held at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, June 14, 2017. Officials from Reclamation, Orchard Mesa Irrigation District and the Colorado River District will be on site to answer questions. To attend the media tour, please RSVP by noon on Tuesday, June 13, to Justyn Liff at 970-248-0625. If no media RSVP’s for the tour, the tour will be cancelled.
Source: Bureau of Reclamation
