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San Luis Valley Irrigation District <br />2006-2007 Non Reimbursable Project Application <br />~~ Page7of11 <br />regulation of water delivered from the Reservoir to better meet increasing recreational <br />demands. The study aiso will address whether an enlarged Reservoir can assist the <br />Division of Wildlife in meeting its demands in the Basin. The Reservoir presently <br />stores and delivers small amounts of transmountain water owned by the Division. <br />Increased storage may provide significant opportunities to the Division to obtain, <br />store, and use greater amounts of transmountain water throughout the Basin. <br />f. ~onservatio~ool. At present there is not a designated conservation pool in Rio <br />Grande Reservoir. The District does mainnain a pool pursuant to a storage agreement <br />with the Division of Wildlife. The Study will evaluate whether an enlargement will <br />provide for the maintenance of a permanent conservation pool and the benefits such <br />a pool may provide. <br />g. Storage of additional water under direct flow storage decrees_ The San Luis Valley <br />Irrigation District, the Rio Grande Canal Water Users Association, and the <br />Commonwealth h-riga~tion Company each have decrees allowing them to store direct <br />flow water under certain conditions. Generally, each is allowed to store some portion <br />of their direct flow water rights upstream in Rio Grande Reservoir under certain <br />hydrologic conditions. That water is then available for delivery later in the irrigation <br />season. This is a very useful water management tool. Preliminary evaluations indicate <br />that on average the three entities could have stored up to 42,000 acre-feet of direct <br />flow water for use later in the imgation season providing for better water <br />management and creation afhigher late season flows from the Reservoir to the points <br />of diversion below Del Norte., The Study will further evacuate the benefits of a <br />Reservoir enlargement for the storage of direct flows and the benefit such storage <br />provides for irrigation, as well as for River flows and riparian habitat. <br />h. Evaporation. Rio Grande Reservoir is located at approximately 10,000 feet in <br />elevation. Storage of water in an enlarged Reservoir at this elevation wilt reduce <br />substantially the evaporation losses that would occur with the construction of new or <br />expanded storage at lower elevations. <br />i. Stor a for release for winter fish flows. The SWSi Reports notes concern regarding <br />the low flows below Rio Grande Reservoir in the winter months. The study will <br />evaluate whether enlarged storage might provide a source of water for fish flows <br />following the end of the irrigation season. . <br />j. Outlet works. As the CWCB is well aware, the outlet gates for Rio Grande Reservoir <br />underwent substantial rehabilitation in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The CWCB <br />funded this rehabilitation work through a loan and grant package:, Three new outlet <br />gates were installed with a combined release capacity of 3,000 c.f s. Because of <br /> <br />