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6 ] co '.f') ',' ~t .~ because of the publicity already given to the Closed Basin Drain, certain press- t:') ures may be placed on the District to begin work on the Closed Basin Drain C) before the Rio Grande Channelization can be completed. l'he U. S. Army Corps of Engineers have been requested to study the Rio Grande channelization. Colorado goverment officials may be helpful in stimulating activity and pro- curing funds for the project. A considerable number of local residents, and particularly the junior appropriators on the Rio Grande, feel that such channelization is a "must" and 'will produce the most desirable and beneficial results. It is their observation that whereas appropriators above Alamosa were not premitted to divert and a considerable amount of water was allowed to continue downriver, much of the water did not get to the Lobatos gaging station because of the lack of an adequate conveyance channel. It is claimed that in some places the water was not contained within the river banks and spread over a considerable area of land adjacent to the river. As the river flow diminished, the water whioh had spread was trapped outside the river banks and was unable to return to the river and was lost by evaporation and transpiration. The channelization of Rock Creek is believed to be a potentially productive project for increasing the natural return flow to the Rio Grande and providing some drainage of water-logged land. The value of the project will depend largelr on whether or not the Rio Grande channel can carry the water and be deepened sufficiently to premit gravity drainage from Rock Creek into the Rio Grande. Some preliminary work has been done by the local Soil Conservation District but nothing more. The report published by Soil Conservation Service indicates that approximately 105,000 acres ,could be benefited by the development of adequate drainage. A sustained annual yield of about 15,000 to 20,000 acre feet of water is predicted. The report also indicates that an area of approximately 30,000 acres lying adjacent to the Rio Grande between Monte Vista and the Rio Grande-Alamosa County line would benefit from a lowering of the river channel. Because the river does not have an incised channel, the water table in the adjacent land is controlled by the water level in the river. Since the land itself is low-lying, the water table is generally within two to four feet of the surface. The Closed Basin Drain has been proposed and studied in some detail by the Bureau of Reclamation. Evidently the main objection to the project has been the uae of underground water to supplement the surface drainage. If the project were to develop only that water which would otherwise be lost by evapotrans- piration, the opposition would probably be considerably less. Feeling is also strong that any benefit to be derived from the project would be seriously dimin- ished unless the Rio Grande were adequately channelized so that it can carry the salvaged water without appreciable loss before it can be measured for Compact credit. The objection of using underground water to supplement surface water is worthy of much consideration. Supposedly the idea was developed primarily as a measure to increase water quality, particularly that of surface water from the Closed Basin,