09g‎(2)‎

• Board Meeting Date: 3/18/2008
• Description: Colorado Water Resources & Power Development Authority Director's Report
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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• STATE OF COLORADO
OFFICE OF THE STATE ENGINEER
Division of Water Resources
Department of Natural Resources °. •+- ~ =~
301 Murphy Drive ;
Alamosa, CO 81101
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Phone: [phone]
FAX [phone]
Bill Ritter, Jr.
htt //www.water.state.co.us
P~ Governor
Harris D. Sherman
July 23, 2007 Executive Director
State Engineer
Michael Sullivan, P.E.
Division Engineer
Rick Brown
Colorado Water Conservation Board
1313 Sherman, Suite 721
Denver, CO 80203
RE: Rio Grande Initiative
• Mr. Brown and Mr. Gibson:
•
Mike Gibson
San Luis Valley Water Conservancy District
415 San Luis
Alamosa, CO 81101
This letter is in support of application for the funding for the Rio Grande Initiative as proposed
to, and approved by, the Rio Grande F:oundtable at the July 10, 2007 meeting.
The Rio Grande Initiative has requestt;d funding to support conservation efforts along the Rio
Grande corridor. The Initiative proposes using Statewide Funds to match GOCO, federal, state,
and private funds to establish permanent conservation easements along the river corridor. These
easements require the land remain in its existing state and that historic irrigation practices
continue. The targeted lands are alonl; the Rio Grande.
The protection of the hydraulic characteristics of the alluvial corridor of the Rio Grande is
important to providing for a functional river system. This protection includes continued
operation of the irrigation systems along the river; systems which were in place when the Rio
Grande Compact was negotiated and afire thus a part of the underlying physical framework and
assumptions of the Compact. The change of these areas from irrigated agriculture to
developments, or simply the removal of water rights from use in these areas, will have an effect
on the river and the operation of the Compact. Today these areas are irrigated creating a
riparian/groundwater buffer and generating significant return flows to the Rio Grande. These
return flows in turn allow further diversion of water to senior water rights or are used to assist in
Colorado's delivery obligations under the Compact. Bigger water years/diversions will tend to
"fill" this alluvial area making deliveriies during subsequent drier years less onerous. Absent this
buffer and return flows, delivery of Colorado's obligation under the Compact could become