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<br />A .:. 4 ,n t; <br />UU"'. , <br /> <br />In additien to. previding a reliable supply ef water, the Preject is designed to. <br />fulfill the fellewing ebjectives and respensibilities: <br /> <br />1. To. build the Preject with abselutely minimum adverse secial and ecenemic <br />effects, <br /> <br />2. Witheut damage to. the envirenment, <br /> <br />3. Witheut damage to. impertant archeelegical and histeric sites, */ <br /> <br />4. To. enhance recreatienal eppertunities, and <br /> <br />5. To. previde wildlife benefits. <br /> <br />The Project is designed to. salvage water presently being lest to. evaperative <br />processes frem the Clesed Basin area ef the northern Valley. Thus, the primary <br />means ef securing water witheut affecting histeric use is fer the preject to tap <br />into. a seurce ef water which is net being beneficially used. The Preject design <br />calls fer a netwerk of between 150 and 180 shallew wells spread eut ever an area <br />ef 130,000 acres (less than 1 well per section ef land en the average). The <br />130,000 acres 'within the fermal Preject beundaries consist ef the sump area ef <br />the Clesed Basin. This area is the lewest peint in the Valley other than the <br />bed ef the Rio. Grande itself. Water which reaches this part ef the Valley, <br />either en er belew the surface, has quite literally no place to. go but up. Mest <br />of the water which reaches the Clesed Basin sump cernes frem the Sangre de <br />Cristes en the east side ef the Valley. The Preject salvage well system dees <br />not depend en the very small ameunt ef water which flews threugh the develeped <br />farmland to. the west ef the Preject area. The salvage well system is designed <br />so. that it cannet "suck the water eut frem belew" the lands surreunding the <br />Project. <br /> <br />The law autherizing the Preject (Public Law 92-514) prevides further assurance <br />that effects to. histeric lecal water use will be incensequential. By law, the <br />Project wells cannet tap into. the first widespread artesian aquifer. At a <br />depth between 90 and several hundred feet belew the surface ef the whele Valley <br />fleer, layers ef impermeable clay seal eff an enermeus reserve ef water. When a <br />pipe (an artesian well) is inserted into. the lewer levels, the pressure causes <br />water to. flew naturally to. the surface. Seme ef the first artesian wells which <br />were drilled in the Valley sent geysers ef water ever 50 feet in the air. The <br />thousands ef artesian wells which have been drilled since then have relieved so. <br />much ef the pressure en the artesian aquifer that many Valley artesian wells <br />flow less and in seme cases no. lenger flew at all. Because the artesian aquifer <br />is ef such great impertance to. the ecenemy ef the Valley and because a new <br />artesian well can affect the flew ef elder artesian wells miles away, the <br />Preject is prevented by law frem centributing to. the preblem by tapping into. the <br />artesian aquifer (fer more details cencerning this questien see sectien VI and <br />questiens 2 and 3). <br /> <br />*/ One ceuld perhaps ebject to. items 2 and 3. The Project is designed to. <br />minimize disruptien ef the envirenment and archeelegical sites. Mitigatien <br />precedures are planned fer these minimal effects. The net result will be no. <br />damage. <br /> <br />6 <br />