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

Water Management Study: Upper Rio Grande Basin

BuRec's Rio Grande Project. The Commission covers the area from Elephant
Butte Reservoir to Ft. Quitman. The Commission has not yet cemented its
role in the overall management of resources in the lower end of the Basin.

3. Within the States: Local Districts

Many of the decisions regarding the management and use of the Basin's
water and related resources are made at the local level, through irrigation
and conservation districts. The following discussion of eight districts
highlights the roles they play in the Basin.

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Rio Grande Water Conservation District. This district covers the
San Luis Valley in Colorado to address the research and legal needs of water
users. It was formed in 1967 primarily to help water users obtain and
administer funds to respond to litigation from Texas over Colorado's
accumulation of water-delivery debits in excess oflimits set in the Compact.
Since then it has successfully funded opposition to a proposal to export water
from the valley to Denver and served as the local sponsor of the San Luis
Closed Basin Project which is intended to deliver groundwater to the Rio
Grande to help Colorado meet its water-delivery obligation under the
Compact. The district does not, however, deliver water to anyone. It has
initiated research projects, such as investigations of water quality and the
development of wells to monitor groundwater levels. Members of the
district's board are drawn from the five counties in the valley and generally
represent both water users and the districts that administer the
water-delivery system.

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Trinchera Irrigation Company. This irrigation company, comprised of
47 stockholders, manages the use of water for irrigation in the northern half
of Costilla County, Colorado. The company is responsible for the
maintenance of Mountain Home Reservoir and Smith Reservoir and the
delivery of irrigation water to approximately 15,000 acres. The number of
irrigated acres served by the company has remained relatively stable over
the years. Stockholders in the company primarily produce potatoes, alfalfa,
and moravian barley. Canola, oats, and spinach are produced in smaller
quantities. The five members of the company's board of directors are
stockholders and agricultural landowners.

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Conejos Water Conservancy District. This district covers 100,000 acres
within Conejos County, Colorado. It was formed in 1949 to help sponsor

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