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<br />have since learned by historic conditions, Elephant Butte Reservoir did not spill between 1942 and 1985. <br /> <br />Only one post-compact reservoir of any size has been constructed in the San Luis Valley and it was <br /> <br />Platoro Reservoir completed in 1950 with a capacity of 52,000 acre-feet on the Conejos River. <br /> <br />Colorado water users in the Closed Basin area north of the Rio Grande have developed water <br /> <br />management practices to maximize the highly variable flows of the river by using large canals such as the <br /> <br />Rio Grande Canal to recharge the shallow unconfmed aquifer. NeaTly all irrigation is accomplished <br /> <br />through the use of wells to supply center pivot sprinkler systems that are much more efficient and less <br /> <br />labor intensive. Thus, these water users divert the waters of the Rio Grande twice and use the unconfined <br /> <br />aquifer as a reservoir to store water from wet years for dry year production. <br /> <br />The Compact in Article III contains the schedule of deliveries for the Rio Grande and Conejos River and <br /> <br />it allows Colorado to incTease its consumptive uses of water from the Rio Grande and Conejos River to <br /> <br />the extent that water of suitable quality is deliveTed to the stateline from the Closed Basin. The Closed <br /> <br />Basin Project was completed in 1988 and delivers water to the Rio Grande below Alamosa. The Closed <br /> <br />Basin Project removes water from the shallow aquifer in the sump area via 170 wells that lower the water <br /> <br />table to prevent the loss of water from non-beneficial evapotranspiration by native vegetation. The <br /> <br />project has provided about 30,000 acre- feet of suitable quality water per year and has been limited by <br /> <br />biofouling of some production well screens. The Bureau of Reclamation is currently attempting to <br /> <br />resolve this problem. <br /> <br />Article VI contains some very important provisions that aTe vital to both Colorado and New Mexico. <br /> <br />Paragraph 1 requires that credits and debits will be computed for each calendar year unless there is an <br /> <br />actual spill of water from Elephant Butte Reservoir. This means that both states do not have a delivery <br /> <br />obligation in a year of spill. <br /> <br />J ,', <br /> <br />-~ < - ,'{ <br /> <br />; ':'1 <br />..;it".,~ <br />" ,L '<- ,-,;,,),,__~,,_,:;i';h_. ...~ <br />