WSP11716

• File Number: 8507
• Description: Rio Grande Project
• State: CO
• Basin: Rio Grande
• Date: 7/1/1997
• Title: Water Management Study: Upper Rio Grande Basin part 1
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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Contents

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Page

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Executive Summary .......................................... S-l

Acknowledgments ............................................. iii

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Chapter 1 - Major Physical, Legal, and Institutional Characteristics ..... 1
A. Major Physical Characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 1
B. A Brief History of Human Development in the Basin ............ 9
C. Laws and Institutions Governing the Basin's Water and
Related Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 12
D. Focus on Instream-Flow Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 28

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Chapter 2 - The Economic Setting ................................ 37
A. A Framework for Assessing the Competition for Water and
Related Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 38
B. Economic Forces Shaping the Competition for Water and
Related Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 44
C. Economic Values Associated With the Basin's Water and
Related Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 55

D. Summary .............................................. 65

Chapter 3 - An Overview of the Basin's Resource-Management

Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 69
A. Bottom-Line Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 72
B. Contributory Problems ................................... 89

Chapter 4 - Addressing the Basin's Problems ...................... 109
A. Requirements for Cooperative Resource Management. . . . . . . . .. 110
B. Cooperative Efforts in the Basin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 111
C. Cooperative Outlook .................................... 121

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Chapter 5 - Conclusions and Recommendations .................... 127
A. Federal Policies and Actions Should Reflect the Ecosystem's
Complex Role in a Complex Economy ..................... 127
B. Strive to Mitigate or Correct Anticompetitive Factors . . . . . . . . '. 135
C. Clarify Federal Interests in the Basin's Water and
Related Resources. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 141

References .................................................. 145

Tables

Page

1.1 Apportionment of water among the states under the
Rio Grande Compact during a typical year. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 22
1.2 Federal water-management agencies and facilities in the
Upper Rio Grande Basin ................................ 29

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