From the Montrose Daily Press:
Grandview Canal & Irrigation Company will use the grant to pipe nearly five miles of the Grandview Canal and five miles of associated irrigation laterals located near Crawford. Converting the canal and laterals from open, earthen ditches to pressurized pipe will enable the company to upgrade about 900 acres of farmland that is currently flood-irrigated to sprinkler irrigation, according to the BuRec’s news release. The project will prevent approximately 6,400 tons of salt from entering the Colorado River system each year. It is slated for completion in 2011. The grant was awarded through BuRec’s Basinwide Salinity Control Program, which aims to reduce salinity levels in the Colorado and prevent economic damages in lower parts of the basin. BuRec says irrigation in western Colorado valleys is a prime source of human-caused salinity increases to the Gunnison and Colorado rivers.
More infrastructure coverage here.