BOARD02298

• Board Meeting Date: 5/19/1938
• Description: Minutes
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Minutes

28

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Secretary
San Juan Water Users Assoc.

President
San Juan Water Users Association
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Thereupon. the f'ollowing resolution was introduced, to-wit:

WHEREAS,on account of Interstate and Internationaldifferences,
the people of the gref!-t San Luis Valley in Colorado have been pre-
cluded from constructing necessary regulatory works on the Rio Grande
end the Rio Conejos ever since 1896, md dm:'ing said time these people
have been ready, willing end anxious to construot such works, md.

WHEREAS, the citizens of OUl' state haw been immeasurably
injured and damaged by reason of governmental restrictions aver 'Which
they had no control to an extent which _ f!-l"e lDlable to calculate but
which has been variously estimated by well advised men as aggregating
many millions of dOllars, that the late Senator Charles H. Thomas
stated in,the Senate of' the United States in 1914 that the damage
amollllted to $187,000.000.00. lInd more recently engineers for the State
Planning COllIIlis sion end the .state Water Resources Board of Colorado fued
the amount at $23,000,000.00 over the period of the last fourteen years:
and.

WHEREAS, through the efforts of the National Resources Committee
and various other disinterested governmental agencies serving md
assisting it in a comprehensive study of the entire Rio Grande Basin
k:n~ as the Rio Grande Joint Investigation. it has now been demon-
strated that the construotion of these regulatory projects on the Rio
Grande and Conejos are not ally feasible and eooncmically sound but oan
be construoted without in any mamlllr interfering with any other development
in the State of Colorado er 1Ill.thin tile Upper Rio Grllnde Basin, and.

WHEREAS, inoident to that report an amicable settlement Illld
adjustment has been made of the Interstate and International dif'ferences
prevailing on the Rio Grmde v.hioh 1Ill.ll nOli' permit the people of the San
Luis Valley to proceed with the logioal development of this great area
to tile benefit not only of the people of the Sm Luis Valley but of the
State of Colorado as a whOle,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Colorado Water
Conservation Board witilout reservation or restriotion. do hereby reoOT'mend
the immediate favorable consideration of the finanoing of the Wagon Wheel
Gap Dam on the Rio Grande and either 'what is known as the Granite D!lIIl of
the Platora and Mogote Dams on the Conejos as the people in that Valley
mAY determine: and.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED in view of the fact that the construction
of such projects will not only provide regulation for irrigation water.
but 'Will likewise afford adequate :t'1ood cootrol for the upper Rill Grande
and will furnish ~ means fer developing other inoidElltal uses of the
waters, including hydro-electric pOll'er. that these projeots be consid-
ered as multiple use projeots md thAt tile Nationa.l Administration be
requested to assist in every way possible to develop ell of the uses tor
1drl.ch these projects may be suitable.

Upon motion duly made and seoonded tb9 foregoing resolution was
unanimously adopted end deolared passed by the Chairmen.