PROJ00518

• Contract/PO #: C153484
• Contractor Name: San Luis Valley Water Conservation District
• Contract Type: Grant
• Water District: 0
• County: Rio Grande
• Bill Number: FSG
• Loan Projects - Doc Type: Feasibility Study

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Since 1) the ability to store debit water in post-1937 reservoirs, 2) the release

of debit water stored in post-1937 reservoirs, and 3) the cancellation of accrued

debits or credits are tied to capacities of Rio Grande Project Storage, the Compact

sets the following limitations:

a maximum average annual release from Rio Grande Project Storage to Project

demand of 790,000 acre-feet. This 790,000 acre-feet includes the 60,000

acre-feet to be delivered to Mexico under the international treaty.

Rio Grande Project Storage is not to exceed 2,638,860 acre-feet, the original

capacity of Elephant Butte and Caballo Reservoirs.

Another major provision of the Compact which may affect a new storage project is

that the Compact permits Colorado to increase its consumptive uses of water out of

the Rio Grande and Conejos Rivers to the extent that water may be delivered at the

stateline from the Closed Basin (subject to certain water quality provisions) (see

Section V).

IV.4 COLORADO 1940-1985 OPERATION OF COMPACT

Colorado's credits and debits (as recorded in the annual Rio Grande Compact

Commission Reports) of the Rio Grande Compact for 1940 through 1985 are shown in

Figure IV-I. There were two years (1942 and 1985) where spill conditions at Rio

Grande Project Storage caused the total elimination of accrued credits or debits.

Due to the large debits accrued by Colorado from 1952 through the mid-1960's, a

lawsuit (Texas and New Mexico v. Colorado, 391 U.S. 901, 88 S.Ct. 1649, 20 L.Ed.2d

416) was filed in the US Supreme Court in 1966 with Colorado's debt of almost

945,000 acre-feet as the central issue. This action led to a variety of events in

the following 13 years which are summarized below.

1968 Colorado entered a stipulation with New Mexico and Texas and agreed to deliver

each year's Compact commitment without building up any further debt of water.

As indicated in Figure IV-I, Colorado succeeded in meeting this obligation.

1970 The Colorado State Engineer's Office stopped issuing new well permits for

the non-Closed Basin aquifers and the Closed Basin confined aquifer.

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