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WSP09325
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Last modified
1/26/2010 2:52:53 PM
Creation date
10/12/2006 3:34:49 AM
Metadata
Fields
Template:
Water Supply Protection
File Number
8543.600
Description
Closed Basin Division - Studies
State
CO
Basin
Rio Grande
Water Division
3
Date
7/1/1982
Title
The San Luis Valley Project - Closed Basin Division - Facts and Concepts About the Project
Water Supply Pro - Doc Type
Report/Study
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<br /> <br />, <br />In th the State of Colorado, the Bureau plans to develop Head and San Luis Lak.es <br />into a recreation and w~ldlife area. Before San Luis Lake silted up and became <br />foul smelling and brackish in the late 1950's, it was a very popular recreation <br />area. The plans call for the delivery of enough water to stablize a higher <br />water level in the lakes. Water will be periodically pumped through the system <br />so that the lakes will not stagnate. <br /> <br />There are other Project benefits which are not formally identified as purposes <br />justifying the Project. These "spin off" benefits are mostly related to <br />requirements of Federal laws. Extensive studies of the Closed Basin's ecology, <br />archeology, and history have been done (see section III). These studies are <br />required to identify possible Project effects to these resources and to develop <br />mitigation plans. The results of these studies are available to the public. <br />Scientists and interested local residents can use this information to learn <br />about these unique and interesting aspects of the San Luis Valley. <br /> <br />Perhaps the most important of the "spin off" benefits are, the engineering, water <br />table, and geological studies which are required for the Project to be designed <br />property. The results of these studies (section III) are also available to the <br />public. Radosevich and Rutz' report, which was cited at the beginning of the <br />section, concludes with some advice. The Valley's economic/water interest <br />groups are counciled to 'negotiate with each other rather tha;; hale each other <br />before courts of :Law. The purpose of such negotiation would be to develop a <br />Valley-wide system of water allocation which would be both fair and clearly <br />understood. ,No restraint on individual constitutional rights to seek redress <br />in the courts is intended. The point is, quite simply, that the Valley's , <br />present course of defining a system of water rights piecemeal, individual court <br />case by court case, will have negative results. Defining the relationship of <br />Valley water rights to each other in the courts will result in a huge body of <br />individual rulings and decrees. Some rulings will probably be contradictory. <br />Regardless of the outcome, legal fees will be enormous. ' <br /> <br />It will not be easy to negotiate a fair and legally binding system outside of <br />the courts. The work should be done by people whose vital economic interests <br />are directly involved. The information the'Bureau has collected should help. <br />No one can be expected to make a decision which may directly affect his liveli- <br />hood without some solid facts about what the results of that decision will be. <br />Information has been collected by the Project on how water tables are related, <br />what happens with different kinds of water-pumping operations, and on how those <br />things affect vegetation. These data should help individuals make informed <br />decisions. <br /> <br />In the long run, the information provided by the Project may be a greater bene- <br />fit than the water it is being built to salvage. The completed Project can be <br />logically viewed as a closely watched gage on the terminal end of the whole <br />northern Valley's ground water system. Like a measuring instrument, the Project <br />will not direc~ly affect the rest of the system. The Project's network of <br />observation wells will show whether or not the northern Valley's water supplies <br /> <br />9 <br /> <br />t ,") ."::In"~ <br />,; V t" " <i:iI .t <br />
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