Environmental Assessment: Minnesota Canal and Reservoir Company Salinity Control Project Phase II 2014-2016, Paonia, CO, Delta County, Colorado

摘要

The Minnesota Canal and Reservoir Company (MCRC) of Paonia, Colorado is a private, non-profit, mutually funded irrigation company that manages several miles of water conveyance ditches, canals, and reservoirs in Delta County, Colorado. One of the canals managed by the MCRC is the Minnesota Canal. The Canal diverts water from Minnesota Creek east of Paonia to irrigate agricultural lands west and southwest of the point of diversion. The MCRC has received two grants through the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), in association with a Basinwide Salinity Control Program, aimed at reducing the amount of salt and selenium that reaches the Colorado River. The first grant awarded (Phase I) was used to improve the upper 5.2 miles (mi.) (27,479 ft.) of the Minnesota Canal by piping the existing earthen canal. Phase I also included improvements to the diversion structure on Minnesota Creek. An Environmental Assessment for Phase I was prepared by Reclamation and a Finding of No Significant Impact was signed in 2012. The Phase II project consists of piping the Extension Ditch for its full length from Lucas Creek to the last dividing box, a total length of 20,186 feet (3.8 miles).