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The Association is anon-profit corporation. It was originally organized when Colorado first <br />began negotiations of the temporary Rio Grande Compact of 1929. It participated extensively in <br />the negotiations that led to the final Rio Grande Compact of 1938 (the "Compact") and has <br />operated continuously since that time. It is the principal water-user group on the Rio Grande. <br />The purposes for which it was organized include: <br />To promote and encourage the art of irrigation in the San Luis Valley; to promote <br />and establish a better spirit of cooperation among the water users in former Water <br />District No.20; to secure a better administration of existing laws under which the <br />waters of the Rio Grande are distributed; to take whatever lawful action may be <br />necessary for the protection of the waters of the Rio Grande and its tributaries for <br />use in the San Luis Valley and particularly for use in former Water District No. <br />20 against attack by interests both within and beyond the confines of the State; <br />and, in general, to foster, support, and encourage the better use of water for <br />irrigation and to take any and all lawful action that may be necessary to protect <br />and advance the interests of the members of the Association in Water Division <br />No. 3, and to do so and perform such other duties and powers as usually <br />appertain to associations of like character and that might be of use and benefit to <br />the Association and to water users in said former Water District No. 20. <br />The Association is governed by an eleven-member Board of Directors. The directors are elected <br />annually. There is one director representing the senior water rights organization. The remaining <br />ten directors are elected to represent the ditches in three divisions along the Rio Grande. The <br />Board of Directors meets quarterly. The day-to-day affairs of the Association are conducted by <br />its officers. The current officers are Roy Helms, President; Lyle Nissen, Vice President; and Jack <br />Kuntz, Secretary-Treasurer. The address of the Association is 147 Washington Street, Monte <br />Vista, Colorado 81144, and its phone number is: (719) 852-3556. <br />Activities <br />The primary activities of the Association are promoting sound water use and management by <br />irrigators on the Rio Grande, protecting its members' water rights from injury by other water <br />users, ensuring fair and equitable administration of water rights, protecting its members against <br />threats to their water supplies from within and outside of the San Luis Valley, and performing <br />engineering studies to further these goals. The Association serves as a forum for its members to <br />work out disputes and join in concerted action to promote their interests. <br />The Association has undertaken engineering studies (1) to determine if its members are <br />optimizing their water use, (2) to assess the accuracy and reliability of river administration, (3) to <br />analyze impacts of changes in water use on the Rio Grande in New Mexico and Texas on their <br />Rio Grande Compact rights, (4) to analyze how best to use its allocation from the Closed Basin <br />Project, and (5) other studies of a similar nature. The Association has actively worked to resolve <br />water use and Compact administration disputes in the San Luis Valley. For example: <br />In 1981, it was instrumental in showing the State Engineer that continued issuance of well <br />permits in the unconfined aquifer of the Closed Basin would result in serious overdraft <br />problems. As a result, the State Engineer ceased issuing permits for new unconfined aquifer <br />groundwater appropriations. <br />C:Acdss\RGWUA3.doc Rio Grande Water Users Association Interview June 21, 1999 -Page 2 of 9 <br />