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<br />'ooo'.~z <br /> <br />, <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Basin drain involved the construction of open drains from the basin <br /> <br />into the river. It became apparent that, if open drains were con- <br /> <br />structed, it would be most difficult, if not impossible, to control <br /> <br />the quality of water which would be discharged into the river. In <br /> <br />particular, the final Rio Grande Compact of 1938 now in effect pro- <br /> <br />vides in Article 111(4) as follows: <br /> <br />"In event any works are constructed after 1937 for the <br />purpose of delivering water into the Rio Grande from the <br />closed basin, Colorado shall not be credited with the amount <br />of such water delivered, unless the proportion of sodium ions <br />shall be less than forty-five percent of the total positive <br />ions in that water when the total dissolved solids in such <br />water exceeds three hundred fifty parts per million." <br /> <br />As a result of a rather exhaustive engineering and geologic <br /> <br />investigation, it was determined that by the substitution of selec- <br /> <br />tive pumping and controlled mixing in lieu of an open drain that <br /> <br />the desired quality of the composite flows could be easily maintained. <br /> <br />It was on this basis that the final plan was developed and submitted <br /> <br />to the Congress this year. <br /> <br />In 1938 the States of Colorado, New Mexico and Texas entered <br /> <br />into the Rio Grande River Compact now in effect. The purpose of the <br /> <br />compact was to allocate waters among the states, which waters for <br /> <br />the most part originate in Colorado. The compact was based upon two <br /> <br />faulty premises. namely: that the precompact recorded flow of the <br /> <br />river would repeat itself in sequence and that historic diversions of <br /> <br />water were all that were required to sustain the existing agricultural <br /> <br />-5- <br />