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, . . the Animas-La Plata Project provides water on demand at a set price from the storage allocated to the city in Ridge's Basin Reservoir. l A compact on the Animas River would be a disaster for the City of Durango as well as other Colorado water users. Wyoming v. Colorado in the United States Supreme Court case established the legal principle that the doctrine of prior appropriation applies regardless of state boundaries. In the event New Mexico seeks a compact on the Animas River, they would do so by filing an original action in the United States Supreme Court asking that the waters of the Animas River be decreed according to the priority dates between the two states. Refer to questions and answers, question No. 11, Page 6, which is attached hereto for your informa- tion, wherein it is indicated that 655 cubic second feet of senior rights on the Animas River exists which are prior to water rights owned by the City of Durango and the Durango service area. Most recently, the State of Colorado sued the State of New Mexico in the United States Supreme Court for a compact on the Vermejo River in the San Luis Valley. Also, New Mexico and Texas sued the State of Colorado for a compact for an accounting on the Rio Grande Compact in recent years. In 1977 the Animas River flows were below 200 cubic second feet much of the entire year. A Supreme Court enforced com- pact could mean great shortages for all Colorado users. There is no reason to suppose that the State of New Mexico would lose such a lawsuit inasmuch as New Mexico did not lose in the Hindenlighter case which was decided by the United States Supreme Court in 1920, This was the case in the United States Supreme Court which required the La Plata River Compact which was entered into in 1922, the same year as the Colorado River Compact. One need only know the his- tory of the La Plata River before and after the La Plata River Compact to recognize the consequences. The junior water users in Colorado have been deprived of a full water supply ever since the compact went into effect. The storage of 280,000 acre feet of water in Ridges Basin Reservoir would resolve any necessity for a compact on the Animas River. A good illustration is the Vallecito Reservoir which resolved early on the non-Indian-Indian water claims on the Pine River. The Animas-La Plata Project would serve the same function on the Animas River. 8. WHAT WILL BE THE EFFECT OF A RULING FAVORABLE TO UTE WATER CLAIMS UPON DURANGO'S EXISTING AND FUTURE WATER RIGHTS ON THE ANIMAS AND FLORIDA RIVERS? Favorable ruling for Ute Indians may not adversely affect Florida water rights owned by the City of Durango in any manner. This is because the Southern Ute Indian Tribe has been allocated water out of the Florida Project for Ute lands on the Florida Mesa and have a sufficient water supply for -8-