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<br />(Yj <br /> <br />:r".. <br /> <br />',..1 <br />,,".~ <br />- , <br />" <br /> <br />':;; <br /> <br />2. Construction of any stage of the project after stage one can <br />be undertaken only with the consent of the Colorado Water Conservation <br />Board and the Rio Grande Water Conservation District. <br /> <br />3. There must be incorporated into the project plans a control <br />system of observation wells which must be designed to provide positive <br />identification of any fluctuations in the water table of the area <br />surrounding the project attributable to the operation of the project or <br />any part thereof. <br /> <br />4. The project facilities must be operated in a manner that will <br />not cause the water table available for any irrigation or domestic wells <br />in existence prior to the construction of the project to drop more than <br />two feet, and in a manner that will not cause reduction of artesian <br />flows in existence prior to the construction of the project. <br /> <br />5. Construction of the project may not be started until the state <br />of Colorado agrees that it will convey to the United States easements <br />and rights-of-way over lands owned by the state that are needed for <br />project purposes and wildlife refuge areas. Acquistion of privately <br />owned lands, where possible and consistent with the development of the <br />project, shall be restricted to easements and rights-of-way in order to <br />minimize the removal of land from local tax rolls. <br /> <br />6. The authorizing act establishes an operating committee con- <br />sisting of one member appointed by the Secretary of the Interior, one <br />member appointed by the Colorado Water Conservation Board and one member <br />appointed by the Rio Grande Water Conservation District. This committee <br />is authorized to determine from time to time whether the requirements <br />of the act are being complied with. In the event that the committee <br />finds that there is any violation of the safeguards contained in the <br />act, the Secretary of the Interior must modify the operation to the <br />extent necessary to eliminate any adverse effect. <br /> <br />In addition to,the many_'safeguards contained in the authorizing <br />legislation, the board staff proposes that the Colorado Water Conserva- <br />tion Board appoint an operating committee to monitor and make recom- <br />mendations concerning the project construction and subsequent operation. <br />As a minimum, this operating committee should consist of representatives <br />from the Rio Grande Water Conservation District, the Conejos Water Con- <br />serv8ncy'District, the San Luis Valley Water Conservancy District, the <br />Rio Grande Water Users Association, and the San Luis Valley Irrigation <br />Well Owners, Inc. <br /> <br />Conclusions, and: Recommendations <br /> <br />At the present time, an excess of 600,000 acre-feet of water is <br />being lost in the Closed Basin. Much of this water is being diverted <br />from the Rio Grande. This is a staggering waste of water which should <br />not be tolerated in a state which is constantly struggling to match its <br />available water supplies with an ever-increasing demand. The Closed <br />Basin project is an example of reclamation in its truest sense. <br /> <br />As the result of demands on the Rio Grande River under the Mexican <br />Treaty and the Rio Grande Compact, and more specifically as the result <br />of the pending litigation, the state engineer has been forced to curtail <br /> <br />-4- <br />