BOARD00935

• Board Meeting Date: 9/5/1968
• Description: Agenda or Table of Contents, Minutes, Memos
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Meeting

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MR. EMERY:

"The U. S. Geological Survey, in coopera-
tion with the Colorado Water Conservation
Board, is making a comprehensive study of
the water resources of the San Luis Valley.
The objective of the study is to provide
information on the water resources of the
Valley to 6t~~e and local agencies for plan-
ning, manii9ement, and administration.

The San Luis Valley project area covers
approximately 3,200 square miles and includes
parts of Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Rio
Grande, and Saguache Counties, Colorado.
There is more than 2 billion acre-feet of
ground water in storage, and during years of
low surface-water supply, ground-water with-
drawal has been as high as 1,200,OOO acre-
feet. Surface water diversions in the San
Luis Valley have been as much as I,OOO,OOO
acre-feet per year.

The Valley has a greater diversity of
water problems than any other area in Co1o~ado.
Some of the problems resulting from natural
processes may not be feasible to alleviate.
However, many of the water problems can be
corrected by improved water-management prac-
tices. Some of the major water problems in
the San Luis Valley are as follows: delivery
of water in accord with the Rio Grande Com-
pact~ poor drainage causing water logging and
alkali soils; waste of water by nonbeneficial
evapotranspiration; waste of water by uncon-
trolled flow from artesian wells during the
non-growing season~ and decline of arte8ian
head.

The approach used in the study, which
began in 1966, is to inventory the water
resources, and to document the effects of
development with special emphasis on water
problems. The thickness, areal extent,
hydro:t.ogic properties, and development of
the unconfined (shallow) aquifer has been
determined. A determination of these same