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<br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />An important aspect of water administration in the San Luis Valley is the Rio <br /> <br /> <br />Grande Compact between the states of Colorado, New Mexico and Texas. This <br /> <br />Compact, which has been in effect since 1940, established a schedule of annual <br /> <br />deliveries of water by Colorado at the Colorado-New Mexico stateline based on <br /> <br /> <br />flows recorded at designated gaging stations in the Rio Grande Basin within <br /> <br /> <br />Colorado. <br /> <br />Study Process <br /> <br />The Rio Grande Water Supply Study was conducted i~ two steps. In Step One, <br /> <br />between January and October of 1987, preliminary analyses were performec to <br /> <br /> <br />estimate the legal and physical availability of water at four potential reservoir <br /> <br />sites based on certain assumptions. At the completion of Step One, a series of <br /> <br />meetings were held with the State Engineer of Colorado and with representatives <br /> <br />of various water user groups in the San Luis Valley. As a result of these <br /> <br /> <br />meetings, the study sponsors decided to proceed to Step Two of the study to again <br /> <br />estimate storable flows using certain refinements in the assumptions regarding <br /> <br /> <br />the Rio Grande Compact and the future operation of the Closed Basin Project. <br /> <br />The Step Two analyses were conducted from October of 1988 to October of 1989. <br /> <br />At the completion of each major task in the study, a task memorandum summarizing <br /> <br /> <br />the analyses and results was distributed for review to a group of study advisors. <br /> <br />Throughout the course of the study almost twenty meetings were held with the <br /> <br /> <br />study advisory group which included the Colorado State Engineer's Office as well <br /> <br /> <br />as representatives of water user groups in the San Luis Valley. <br /> <br />Study Approach <br /> <br />The estimation of storable flows was based on a number of complex institutional <br /> <br /> <br />and technical factors including the hydrology of the San Luis Valley, water <br /> <br /> <br />diversion and storage patterns over a number of years, the administration of <br /> <br />water rights on the Rio Grande, provisions of the Rio Grande Compact, projected <br /> <br /> <br />future operations of the Closed Basin Project, agreements between water users <br /> <br /> <br />in the valley, and the policies and expectations of a number of organizations. <br /> <br />ii <br />