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, ...._ Closed Basin Project: The Operating Committee met on November 9 to review the claims made ,,-by the Cabeza de Vaca Ranch that the Closed Basin Project wasnot in compliance with the Closed Basin Project Operating Criteria; that review is still in progress. The review of current project operations did not indicate any need to modify the current project operations and those operations were continued until the next meeting set for April 13, 2000. Rio Grande Headwaters Restoration Project: We are continuing to evaluate the feasibility of various restoration projects to improve channel conveyance capacity, reduce vulnerability to flood damages, improve water diversion, restore riparian habitat, and facilitate delivery of interstate compact commitments. A Technical Advisory Committee is meeting regularly to provide guidance to the San Luis Valley Water Conservancy District and our staff. The next meeting is scheduled for early February. Brian Hyde advises that "one or two more revisions" to the Scope of Work may be before it is finalized. Once the Technical Advisory Committee and the District have approved it, the Scope of Work will be incorporated into our contract with the District. At the same time, the Scope. will be distributed to interested consultants to start the selection process and then the contracting process. New Mexico Transfers: The City of Santa Fe, the County and the San Ildefonso Pueblo have reached an agreement with the Top of the World Farm (near Costilla and the Colorado border) to transfer rights to the use of 588 acre-feet of ground water by means of a diversion project that would include a pipeline from the Rio Grande to Santa Fe. For years, Albuquerque has drawn water from an aquifer under the Middle Rio Grande. The river was thought to replace the ground water as fast as it was taken, and the city left undeveloped a small diversion of water from the Colorado River Basin, through the Rio Chama and into the Rio Grande Basin. However, further studies suggest that the city is using up the aquifer faster _than it can be recharged. Albuquerque is now looking at aggressive conservation measures and direct use of the imported water as a means to meet the needs of its current population of around 450,000 and an estimated 775,000 people by the year 2040. Further downstream, the city ofEl Paso, Texas is looking to the Rio Grande to supply growing demands. An economic boom spawned by the North American Free Trade Agreement and the rise of maquiladoras across the border in Juarez, Mexico has led to an area population explosion. The region is expected to grow from about 1.8 million now to 4.8 million by the year 2020. El Paso has a water conservation program that has reduced use to 160 gallons per day per capit'l. In Juarez, many people don't have running water and per capita use is estimated at only 100 gallons per day. Both cities, together with Las Cruces, New Mexico, depend on the Hueco and Mesilla Bolson aquifers for drinking water, but economically recoverable water may only last to 2025. Rio Grande surface water is the next alternative. El Paso has already acquired some rights to the use and conversion of Rio Grande irrigation water. The water supply for much of the lower Rio Grande comes from Caballos and Elephant Butte Dams and is delivered mostly to farmers in New Mexico and Texas. On average, 790,000 acre-feet of water a year flows downstream, with Mexico guaranteed 60,000 acre-feet. If all the agricultural water were converted to municipal and industrial uses, it is estimated that it could support a population of 4.4 million people, but not the projected 4.8 million. San Juan and Dolores River Basin Issues ALP Public Hearings: On Jan. 13 Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt announced the release of a ~raft Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (DSEIS) for the Animas-La Plata Project (ALP). ..-rhe DSEIS evaluates the environmental impacts of the Administration Proposal that was announced in 11