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AUGUST 26, 1983 <br />AUTHORIZATION AND CONSTRUCTION OF TRINIDAD DAM AND LAKE <br />The original authorization for a project on the Purgatoire River <br />at Trinidad is contained in the Flood Control Act of 1944. The <br />project plan was essentially a channel and levee system. However, in <br />1945 the House Committee on Flood Control requested the Corps to <br />review that plan to determine if changes should be made in order to <br />provide flood control for Trinidad and at the same time make more <br />water readily available for agricultural and industrial uses. That <br />review resulted in House Document 325 which recommended the <br />construction of Trinidad Lake, primarily for the purposes of flood <br />control and irrigation. The project was authorized in the Flood <br />Control Act of 1958. In the Flood Control Act of 1965 the City of <br />Trinidad was relieved of its obligation to make a cash contribution <br />toward the project cost. Instead, the city agreed to maintain a <br />Purgatoire River channel capacity of 15,000 cfs through the city. <br />Construction on Trinidad Lake began in May 1968. Deliberate <br />impoundment began in August 1977. As with John Martin, operating <br />procedures at Trinidad are described in the Water Control Manual dated <br />July 1978. A limited number of copies of this manual are also <br />available. <br />I should point out that our water control manuals are developed <br />for use in the District Office and by the project operation staff. <br />The manuals are general in nature on the day-to-day operation of a <br />project, and concentrates more on how the project should be operated <br />during a flood event. <br />