C150221 Application

• Contract/PO #: C150221
• Contractor Name: San Luis Valley Irrigation District
• Contract Type: Grant
• Water District: 0
• Loan Projects - Doc Type: Application

San Luis Valley Irrigation District
2006-2007 Non Reimbursable Project Application
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has identified as being of State and Basin-wide importance. As more specifically set forth
below, initially the applicant will determine whether there is any physical or legal "fatal flaw„
that would rule-out enlarging the Reservoir. If not, the study will evaluate whether, and to
what extent, an enlargement of Rio Grande Reservoir and the utilization of such an
enlargement for re-regulation of the River's water supply can:
a. Assist the State in administration of water under the Rio Grande Compact to
better assure Colorado's full use of its entitlement each and every year;
b. Assist in addressing regional water supply problems including, for example, the
increasing demand for augmentation water for domestic and commercial development,
the loss of agricultural lands due to changes in use of surface water rights and the
depletion of groundwater sources, the ability to increase yields from trans-basin
diversions for use in augmentation, the ability to store and utilize all water available
to Colorado's pre-compact reservoirs, the need for recreational flows, fish flows and
riparian enhancement and protection, the need for water for development below the
River's headwaters and above the CWCB's instream flow reaches, and potential
recreational in channel diversions ("RICDs");
c. Assist in the conservation and protection of fish in the River' s mainstem,
~ particularly in the River's upper reaches above South Fork, Colorado; and,
d. Assist in presently on-going and future River restoration projects and floodplain
management.
Study Areas:
The study will determine and confirm the extent to which an enlarged Rio Grande Reservoir
can provide benefits in managing and better utilizing Colorado's Rio Grande River supply.
Areas of study will include:
a. Storage and re-regulation of water to meet Colorado's Com act obligations and
optimize Colorado's use of its share of the Rio Grande. Colorado is required to
deliver a certain percentage ofthe annual flow of the Rio Grande near Del Norte to
the Colorado-New Mexico border. That delivery requirement is estimated throughout
the year based upon the Natural Resources Conservation Service's (NRCS);monthly
forecast of the River's annual flow. Based upon that motrthly forecast, a percentage
curtailment is imposed on the water available from the River near Del Norte. The
curtailment fluctuates throughout the season as natural conditions and projections
change. For example, this season curtailments have fluctuated between a high of 37%
to a present low of 0%. Such fluctuations during the course of ari irrigation season,