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0", .,-{ 0 l,....lJ lliTRODtx:T ION I appoar in support of tho enaotment of S. 912. I do so at tho direo- tiOD of tho Board of Direotors of tho Canejas ~atQr Conservancy Distriot whioh I h~ve ro?rese~ted sinoe its org~lization in 1940. Tho Conojos District is intorostod in the construotion of tho conojos projeot ~J the Bureau of Rool~~atio~. thie 1s a unit of tho authorizod San- Luis Vnllqy, Colorado, project. Funds have boon appropriatod to begin oon- struotion. Such oonstruotion must await tho oxecution of a repayment contraot. The Canejas fareers will not aooept a repayment oontraot unless their projeot is exempted from the land limitation provisions of the reolalna.tion law8. TEE PROJECT The Sun Luis Valley projeot in Colorado was authorized by the Seoretary of the Interior in 1940 (see liouse Dooument No. 693, 76th Congress, 3rd Session). The San Luis Valley projeot is oomposed of two unit8 - the Wagon '~eol Gap or Upper Rio Gra~e unit and the Conejos unit. Frogross on the Wagon Wheel Gap unit is temporarily suspended pending agreement between the affected water users. Tho COllGjos unit is planned to provide storage facilities on the Co~ejos river to permit the re-regulatio~ of water now oovered by diroot flow appropriatiox:s. The Conejos 13 the prboipa.l tributary of the Rio Grande in Colorado. It is a stream characterized by excessive run-ofr in the snow melt period w:1.ich ~eriodically floods large area oi' la-J.d. As now defbitely plan- ned a reservoir of 60,000 aore feot oa,acity will be constructed at the Platoro site. Therein will be ir.l.po\U1ded water mich in previous years :18.8 been diverted a:1d c.pplied to the .land b. e~ce8sive quantities during the flood stabe of t..'1.e riveT. Such water will be re-regulated so as to be available in - l -