Rio Grande - 100 Years of San Luis Reservoirs Addendum

Home Browse Search

people working together 1 00 years ago to solve critical water problems; and the potential for wise future water decisions by an informed public. Although there will be many fun and family-oriented activities designed to encourage attendance and participation - the core message of "1 00 Years of San Luis Valley Reservoirs Celebration" is: . The reservoirs of the Rio Grande Basin of Colorado affect the lives of the entire San Luis Valley (SL V) population. . The SL V has reaped benefits from its suriace reservoirs for almost 100 years including irrigation water, fish and wildlife habitat, recreation, and flood control. . Building the dams required extreme sacrifice - both physical and financial. . All but Platoro Reservoir were built and have been maintained with private funds. . There are numerous small reservoirs built initially for irrigation and/or fish culture, which are now owned by the Colorado Department of Wildlife (CDOW), and others, collaborating with CDOW for conservation pools, etc. . The dams and reservoirs of the SL V are showing their age. There are issues of safety and the inability for full utilization of existing water and storage rights. Private reservoir companies are hard-pressed to fund needed maintenance and improvement. . With the demand for water ever increasing, there may be opportunities to work together with the other Rio Grande Basin states to maximize the utilization of water by increasing storage in the Upper Rio Grande Basin. Overall Proiect Scope: . Video/DVD A video/DVD will be produced that will address the development of water storage in the San Luis Valley. .It is anticipated, that this documentary will have wide distribution throughout the SL V, through schools, libraries, colleges, museums, Visitor Centers, civic organizations and the Boards of conservation and conservancy districts. The documentary will provide an efficient and effective means of bringing the value of irrigation, fish and wildlife habitat, recreation, and flood control provided by San Luis Valley reservoirs into the public consciousness. The premier showing of the video/DVD will take place on the first day of the Celebration. It will run continuously during the rest of the Celebration. Copies of the video/DVD will be sent free of charge to schools, libraries, museums, and Visitor Centers of the Valley, and be available to others at copying costs. . Traveling Exhibit A traveling exhibit will address the questions: "Why Store Water?" and "Why 1907?" and use many historical photographs, accounts, and newspaper clippings to tell the story of building the SL V reservoirs. The exhibit venues are already scheduled through March of 2008, with plans to bring it to all corners of the SL V over the next 5-10 years. The professional quality of this exhibit will serve to attract, engage, and educate. This exhibit is fully funded by grants from Colorado Historical Society and EI Pomar Foundation. . Symposium The focus of the 3-day Celebration will be the speaker symposium entitled "Water Storage of the Rio Grande Basin: The Past, The Present, and The Future." An agenda Page 2 of 3