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Water Supply Reserve Account - Grant Application Form <br />Form Revised May 2007 <br />o Other SB 179 projects in the San Luis Valley include the Rio Grande Headwaters Land <br />Trust, boosted by $200,000 basin funds and $13Million State funds in the SB 179 <br />program, which then leveraged Great Outdoors Colorado funds of $7.5Million. The San <br />Luis Valley Irrigation District is completing a multi-use enlargement study of the Rio <br />Grande Reservoir with goals very similar to this project's. The deterioration of reservoirs <br />and spillways, imposed limitations on storage, and outlet mechanisms that are past their <br />useful life are problems this project shares with Terrace Reservoir and with Conejos <br />Water Conservancy District's Platoro Reservoir restoration project, with both of those <br />projects now in the process of seeking CWCB assistance. Erosion, river channel braiding, <br />bank failures, and deteriorating irrigation structures are problems cured by a recent <br />CWCB-funded project by the Romero Irrigation Company and Guadalupe Main Ditch <br />Company. On a recent visit to that site, Rick Brown commented that "This is exactly what <br />these funds should be doing." From a whole-river perspective this MLI Project is <br />procedurally an extension of the Romero-Guadalupe project, employing the same J-hook <br />technology and deriving multiple uses and benefits from this proven teclnology. <br />t. The water activity helps support the State's economic vitality and competitiveness in national and <br />international markets. <br />• Agriculture represents $143,637,000, or 37.9 percent of the San Luis Valley's base economy <br />(SLV Development Resources Group). Tourism accounts for $43,508,000, or 11.5 percent of base <br />industry income in the Valley. <br />• This Project preserves the integrity of irrigation flows diverted into the North Branch from the <br />Conejos. Twelve ditch companies rely upon this diversion point to irrigate a total of 22,204 acres, after <br />which the flows return to the river to fulfill Colorado's obligation to the Rio Grande Compact. This <br />Project directly impacts the State's economic vitality and competitiveness in national and international <br />markets by contributing to both the agricultural and the recreational segments of Colorado's overall <br />economy-. <br />• This Project, by restoring the integrity of the Conejos River system, helps to support the State's <br />economic vitality and competitiveness by meeting agriculture's irrigation needs and by helping to <br />maintain a healthy river system for the environment, for wildlife, and for world-class recreational <br />assets downstream. <br />• The State's economic vitality is further enhanced by meeting the diverse mix of consumptive and <br />nonconsumptive needs outlined in this proposal. <br />4. Please provide an overview of the water project or activity to be funded including - type of activity, statement of what <br />the activity is intended to accomplish, the need for the activity, the problems and opportunities to be addressed, <br />expectations of the participants, why the activity- is important, the service area or geographic location, and any <br />relevant issues etc. Please include anv relevant Tabor issues that may affect the Contracting Entity. Please refer to <br />Part 2 of Criteria and Guidance document for additional detail on information to include. <br />Project Overview: The Conejos River is a tributary to the upper Rio Grande River, accounting for nearly 40% <br />of Colorado's Rio Grande Compact obligation. It rises at the Continental Divide in the San Juan Mountains and <br />flows through Platoro Reservoir, continuing through Conejos County until it reaches the Rio Grande River 2 <br />15