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<br />- <br /> <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I, <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />II <br />II <br /> <br />,I <br /> <br />sampled wells. Human health risks from ingestion of groundwater are considered to be <br />low based upon the result, found from the groundwater studies (18). <br /> <br />4.3 Water Rights <br /> <br />The Alamosa River is over appropriated since there is not enough water to satisfy the <br />demand on the system anytime during the year. Terrace Reservoir stores water from <br />the Alamosa River during the winter months under their decree. The water right users <br />have a "call" on the river every day during the irrigation season under normal conditions. <br />If there is more water available than the direct flow rights demand, then the reservoir has <br />priority for the water. Terrace Reservoir rarely has the water necessary to obtain full <br />storage capacity. The water available in the Alamosa River does provide a full supply in <br />the irrigation ditches. The average flow of the Alamosa River above Terrace Reservoir <br />is 110 cfs over the entire year and approximately 200 cfs during the irrigation season. <br />There is about 1000 cfs of direct flow demand, not including the Terrace Reservoir <br />Storage demand during the irrigation season (28). <br /> <br />The State Division of Water Resources considers the Alamosa River to be tributary to <br />the Rio Grande; however, the Rio Grande Compact does not recognize the surface <br />water flows of the Alamosa River under the Tributary Rule. According to the Compact, <br />groundwater tributary flow and floodwater that accrues to the Rio Grande River are not <br />to be diminished (29). It has been the policy of the Division Engineer not to allow over- <br />diversion or new appropriations to occur. <br /> <br />Attachment 6 provides a listing of water rights (surface water and wells) on the Alamosa <br />River. Two reports are provided; one report is sorted by stream priority and the other by <br />structure location. Many of the most senior water right holders, who obtained their <br />decrees in the watershed in 1888, are as follows (79): <br /> <br />. Alamosa Canal . Valdez <br />. EI Viego . Sabino <br />. Gomez . Jasper Augmentation Plan <br />. Terrace Main Channel . Terrace Reservoir <br />. Molino <br /> <br />The water right holders who hold the majority of the water rights in the Alamosa River <br />Watershed are as follows: <br /> <br />Terrace Reservoir <br />USFS <br />Terrace Main Canal <br />Union D <br />Alamosa Canal <br />Cliff Lake <br /> <br />17,171 ac ft <br />1,857 ac ft <br />300 ac ft <br />290 ac ft <br />215 ac ft <br />108 ac ft <br /> <br />The use of water rights and the water conveyance systems in the river have a profound <br />affect on the Alamosa River Corridor. There are numerous headgate (Figure 6) and <br /> <br />4-3 <br />