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Allocation of the yield of the Closed Basin Project by agreement of the San Luis Valley water users resolved the issue of regulating then-existing levels of ground water use that affected surface flows of the Rio Grande and the Conejos River. 1985 The U.S. Supreme Court dismissed with prejudice the Texas and New Mexico v. Colorado lawsuit following the spill of Rio Grande Project storage water from Elephant Butte pursuant to the terms of the Rio Grande Compact. In light of the allocation of the yield of the Closed Basin Project by San Luis Valley Water Users, the State Engineer's Office did not find it necessary to adopt new rules and regulations to curtail existing levels of ground water use. Accordingly, the practice of curtailing surface water rights and supplementing the deliveries with Closed Basin Project water remains the cornerstone of Colorado's effort to satisfy the compact delivery obligations. This arrangement has been administered successfully since 1985. The Rio Grande Compact continues to be viewed as the overriding commitment on the river. By comparing estimated compact delivery obligations with streamflow forecasts, water administrators derive an estimate of the flows that must be passed on for benefit of the compact. The remaining flows are available for distribution under the priority system to San Luis Valley water users. As the irrigation season progresses, estimated flows become known flows, and the compact obligations are re-evaluated. The division engineer compares the re-evaluated compact obligations with actual deliveries approximately every 10 days and adjusts the curtailment, if necessary. 4.3 Amended Costilla Creek Compact Costilla Creek originates in the mountains of Colorado just north of the border with New Mexico and flows into New Mexico, where the first irrigation use occurs, and then back into Colorado. The creek then turns south and joins the Rio Grand just south of the Colorado -New Mexico border. In most years, however, no surface flow from Costilla Creek reaches the Rio Grande River. Most of the water supply for irrigation in the basin comes from surface water. There have been historical conflicts between the Costilla Creek water users in Colorado and New Mexico. The Costilla Creek Compact was originally negotiated and signed in 1944. The compact was amended in 1963, and some differences of opinion persist to the present time. According to the compact, a water master is paid for by both Colorado and New Mexico to administer the compact. Each state also provides an engineer advisor to the water master. Important issues in the basin include maintenance of instream flows and timely data availability to help substantiate the water master's water administrative decisions.