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3598 5 while still providing room for new econo~ic develop~ent. At the urging of Valley residents, the State Assembly established the Rio Granrle Water Con- servation District. Th~ District is a duly constituted entity of local government. Its board consists of members appointed by the commissioners of each Colvrado county which contributes water to the Rio Grande (except for Costilla County which chose not to participate). Its job is to promote water resource development within the San Luis Valley, determine water policy, own water, coordinate legal and engineering matter~ affecting the San Luis Valley, ano assist in dev~lopiilg projects with the Colorado ~vater Conservation BoarJ and the Federal Government. TI1P District is the primary sponsor 0f the San Luis Valley Pro.jeet - Closed Basin Division (Closed Basin Project) Wllich the Bureau is now in th~ pro- cess of constructinge The Bureau's involvement is Ilot in the nature of a prograln imposed from "above" by the Government. The. Bureau acts as an enp,inp.€'ring finn pro- viding planning, design, and construction E"xpertise for water projects \vltlch would be difficult or i~possible for the private sector to accolnplish by itselfe Typically, Bureau projects are sponsored by local organizations (irrigati.on districts and/or municipalities)e ~1ost of the cost of a pro- ject is repaid llirectly to the U.S. Treasury by the sponsors and benefi- ciari~~ througll a long-term repayment contract. Houever, Valley residents IJill not have to r~pay the costs of building the Closed Basin Project directly. This is because one of the needs to which the Pr0ject is a response is to provide \later to r:1eet a national obligation (the Treaty with Mexico). The Oistrict is the Project's local sponsor. The Project is a response to the Valley's need to develop a reliable source of water which: (1) can serve to keep the Valley unencumbered by downstrear.t lawsuits and (2) be developed without significantly disturbing the existing local pattern of water usee The Project (which is described more fully in the follo\/ing section) is designed to achieve a delivery of about l04,OOO acre-feet of _ater annually. The Project is being bui It in stages over the course of the nf"xt 10 year$. Initial deliveries will be less than the above amount. gvery drop of water delivered to the river will help, howevere Each drop will prol/ide the Valley with that much more maneuvering room to develop a regu- lar valley-wiJe system of water allocation which is fair, recognizes established historic patterns of lIse, allows room for growth, and gets the Valley out of the yearly scramble and uncertainty about meeting the Com- pact. It is important to remember that all the Bureau is responsible for is building the Project (subject to the constraints discussed belov) and putting the water in the rivere What will be done with the water once it gets there and what kind of a Valley-wide system of water allocation might be developed as a result of the Valley having more water to work with are not decisions the BUreal! is even allowed to make. These decisions will be made by the State of Colorado and local San Luis Valley organizations.