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water of the Rio Grande and its tributaries for beneficial use and the construction of reservoirs, <br />ditches, and works for such purposes are of vital importance to the growth and development of <br />the entire area and the welfare of all its inhabitants ...." § 37 -48 -101, -102, 10 C.R.S. (2003). <br />The General Assembly further declared that to promote the health and general welfare of the <br />state of Colorado, an appropriate agency for the conservation, use, and development of the water <br />resources of the Rio Grande and its tributaries should be established "and given such powers as <br />may be necessary to safeguard for Colorado all waters to which the state of Colorado is equitably <br />entitled." § 37 -48 -101, 10 C.R.S. (2003). The Rio Grande District is authorized, among other <br />things, "to do and perform all acts and things necessary or advisable to secure and insure an <br />adequate supply of water, present and future, for irrigation, mining, manufacturing, and domestic <br />purposes within [the] district." § 37- 48- 105(1)(d), 10 C.R.S. (2003). It is the local sponsor of <br />the Closed Basin Project, a federal reclamation project authorized by Congress, which was <br />constructed, in part, to assist Colorado in meeting its obligations under the Rio Grande Compact. <br />See Closed Basin Landowners Ass'n v. Rio Grande Water Conservation Dist., 734 P.2d 627, <br />629 (Colo. 1987). In accordance with its statutory powers, the Rio Grande District has sought to <br />safeguard the waters of the Rio Grande apportioned for beneficial use in Colorado. <br />2. The Southwestern Water Conservation District ( "Southwestern District ") was <br />created in 1941 based on a legislative declaration that "the conservation of the water of the San <br />Juan and Dolores rivers and their tributaries for storage, irrigation, mining, and manufacturing <br />purposes and the construction of reservoirs, ditches, and works for the purpose of irrigation and <br />reclamation of additional lands not yet irrigated, as well as to furnish a supplemental supply of <br />water for lands now under irrigation, is of vital importance to the growth and development of the <br />entire district and the welfare of all its inhabitants ...." § 37 -47 -101, -103, 10 C.R.S. (2003). <br />3 <br />