BOARD02144

• Board Meeting Date: 8/14/1947
• Description: Minutes and Resolution
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Meeting

Uti

The Afternoon Session, August 14, 1947

The Board re-convened and Wll s call ed to order at 1:4J P.N. by
Vic e-Chai nmn George J. Eail ey.

E. O. Larson, Director of RegiOll 4, Bureau of Recla_tion, presented
inforlll8tion supplementine; hi s report to the Board. This covered the
silt uroblem on the Colorado River. His remarks appgar in full in tre
stenographi(>)1rep'OJ't on file in the offi ce of the Board.

A. N. Thompson, Assistant Regional Direotor for Region 5, Bureau
of ReolallJ!ition, reported on activities in that part of Colorado lying
in Region 5. His report waS confined prinoipally to the San Luis Valley
Project in Colorado. A full report of his statement appears in the
transcript of the meeting on file in the office of the Board.

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The statanent com eming the San Lui s Project made by A.N. Thompson
was supplemented by R.J.Tipton, Consulting -"ngineer of the Board. He
discussed too revised plan for the Conejos Unit of the San Luis Project.
He also outlined the progress whioh had been made in the sump drain
investig ati on und er a cooperative agreement between the State of Colorado,
the U. S. Geological Survey and the Bureau of Reclametion. WI'. Tipton,
is the Colorado member of the joint oommi t tee set up by the coopgrating
State and Federal agencies to make the investigation.

Mr. Tipton urged the neoessity of completing a ground water invest-
igation for the San Lui s Valley as soon a s possible. In thi s connection
he pointed out that it would be necessary that the Bureau of Reclamation
not close its office at Wonte Vista, Colorado, as had been proposed by
the Commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation. He directed attention to
the faot that he, as a representative of the Colorsdo Water Conservation
Board, S. W. Lohman, in charge of undergrourrl water investigations in
Colorado, and the Proj ect Engineer at Mont e Vista had entered into an
agreement prescribing the wanner in which the San Luis Valley under-
ground water investigation should be carried out. He detailed the
menner in which this '.~"Ork was proposed to be unJertaken.

Mr. Tipton also made a detail ed report respecting proposals for a
}fiddle Rio Grand e development by the Bureau of Recl aIDation and the
U. S. Army Engineers. He explained that he had been constantly in touoh
with the investigation s of this project by the two Federal agencies,
and hed made specific recommendations with respect to it and its manner
of operation. He warned that a report by the Bureau end the Amy engi-
neers on the Middle Rio Grande developmen t v"Ould soon be made and that
certain proposals by these Federal agencies, if finally adopted and
irel ud ed in their reports, woul d uti lize Rio (Grande v'ater which is re-
quired for the presently autreri zed San Luis Valley projeot in Colorado;
also certain proposals considered for inclusion in such reports wouId
require project operations contrary to the tenns of the Rio Grande
Compact. He called particular attention to proposals for this project
which woudd attempt to make water avanable for p"",er production in the
Middle Rio Grande area needed for irrigation in the San Luis Velley.

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