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San Luis Valley Irrigation District <br />1006-2007 Non-Reimbursable Project Application <br />~ Page 6 of t I <br />lion of domestic and commercial development throughout the Rio Grande Basin. <br />Transmountain water is not subject to the terms of the Compact. Increasing the <br />amount and yield of transmountain water available for augmentation of domestic and <br />commercial development from the headwaters downstream through Alamosa (and <br />possibly to the Colorado-New Mexico border) will provide additional protection to <br />existing agriculture by alleviating the demand to change agricultural water rights and <br />remove land from agricultural production. Storage of additional transmountain water <br />may provide one source of supply for augmentation of these growing uses. The Study <br />will evaluate whether an enlarged Reservoir might provide a place to store and <br />regulate additional transmournain water supplies to address the increasing demand for <br />augmentation water. <br />It is important to note that most of the augmentation water throughout the Basin is <br />supplied by a single entity, the San Luis Valley Water Conservancy District. The <br />Conservancy District maintains agreemerns to store transmountain and other water <br />in Rio Grande Reservoir far augmentation purposes. Providmg additional storage at <br />the headwaters of the River for the Conservancy District's augmentation program <br />assists the District in meeting the increasing demand for augmentation water <br />throughout the Basin. It also will enhance the Conservancy District's role as the <br />principal provider of augmentation water thereby reducing the need for extensive <br />administration a£ numerous small augmentation plans. <br />c. Storage of high flow water for supplementation or augmentation of groundwater <br />sunnly. As discussed in the SWSI Report, the unconfined aquifer of the Closed Basin <br />has suffered substantial declines in recent years. The study will evaluate whether <br />additional storage might, under certain hydrologic conditions, provide a source of <br />supply that can be utilized to replenish and augment withdrawals from the <br />groundwater aquifer pursuant to various groundwater recharge decrees held by the <br />Rio Grande Water Users Association. Such use may assist in reducing the number of <br />acres of agricultural land that may have to he taken out of production in the San Luis <br />Valley because of the limited water supply. <br />d. Storage of additional water to meet instream flaw and riparian habitat needs. The <br />study will evaluate whether an enlarged Reservoir can assist in meeting the instream <br />flow requirements along the main channel of the Rio Grande as well as addressing <br />riparian needs and River restoration. <br />e. Re-regulation of flows and releases from the Reservoir to bettgr address recreational <br />needs. Recreational uses of the River-are rapidly increasing, particularly from the <br />headwaters downstream to South Fark which provides Class III and IV rapids for <br />rafting and kayaking and world class fisheries. The study will evaluate potential re- <br />