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<br />- <br /> <br />Lands <br /> <br /> <br />".J" <br />Ie) The northern part of the San Luis Valley, which makes up the Closed Basin, has <br />.'~ a drainage area of about 2,900 square miles. The Closed Basin is a sump into <br />9~ which several creeks and Rio Grande irrigation diversions drain. <br /> <br />, <br />" <br /> <br />,:~ Of the total 130,000 acres of land within the project area, 5,220 are <br />Fedet'ally owned, 59,700 are State-owned, Ilw1 "bout; 6.5 ,000 acres are privately <br />owned lands. The actual project facilities will oc.:upY an area of only about <br />2,900 acres. <br /> <br />Land for the project is purchased when the use of the land by the project will <br />prevent use by the present O~ler. When easements are obtained, the present <br />owner retains ownership and use of the land; the Government purchases an <br />interest in the land for its uses. <br /> <br />The Federal government pays the fair market price for lands and rights needed <br />for project features and access areas. As the land requirements for the project <br />are outlined, Bureau of Reclamation real estate specialists set up the proce- <br />dures for securing lauds and rights-of-way. <br /> <br />The project area is then staked and sectioned by survey teams to guide placement <br />of project features such as well sites, pipeline laterals, and the conveyance <br />channel. <br /> <br />Archeologists carefully examine these locations for evidence of historical or <br />scientific significance. Many archeological sites from the thousands of years <br />that Indians lived and hunted in the San Luis Valley are found in the project <br />area. Project features were designed to avoid the more significant sites. As a <br />result, many important sites which might have been damaged or destroyed have <br />been preserved for future study. <br /> <br />Soil within the project area is tested for a variety of reasons. Soil character <br />and variation determine how the water delivery system -- the pipelines and con- <br />veyance channel -- can be most effectively built. Soil must be measured for <br />its suitability for construction material. Local soil conditions help deter- <br />mine, too, how much water can be salvaged from an area. <br /> <br />Pilot wells are drilled to provide subsurface information for the designs of the <br />salvage wells and pumps. Drill cutting samples are obtained and geophysical <br />logs run to provide design information. Fourteen of these pilot wells will be <br />used for permanent observation wells. The remainder will be sealed off and <br />abandoned. <br /> <br /> <br />-8- <br /> <br />.- <br />