WSP01792

• File Number: 8543
• Description: Closed Basin Division
• State: CO
• Basin: Rio Grande
• Water Division: 3
• Date: 4/7/1965
• Title: Agenda Item #6 - Proposed Operations under Rio Grande Compact - Board Meeting - April 14 1965
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Board Memo

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COLORADO WATER CONSERVATION BOARD
215 State Services Building
1525 Sherman Street
Denver, Colorado 80203

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April 7, 1965

M E M Q RAN DUM

TO:

Members, Colorado Water Conservation Board and COlorado
Water Investigation Commission.

FROM:

Felix L. Sparks, Director.

SUBJECT:

Aqenda Item #6, Proposed Operations under Rio Grande
Compact, Board Meeting, April 14, 1965.

At the present time our accumulated debit under the terms
of the Rio Grande Compact is approximately 811,000 acre-feet of water.
There is no use to pretend that we can continue to accumulate an ever-
increasing debit. The actual truth of the matter is tnat we have
never made any attempt to observe our obligations under the terms of
the compact. We cannot continue to ignore one compact while on the
other hand appearing in Congress and asking the support of that agency
for the authorization of projects which come within the provisions of
other compacts.

A specific statutory duty of this Board is to cooperate
with the Attorney General on all matters relating to interstate suits
concerning the waters of the rivers of the state. If suit is brought
against the State of Colorado by Texas and New Mexico, under the terms
of the Rio Grande Compact, we would be hard pressed to cooperate with
the Attorney General in that as of this time we have not been able to
conceive of any valid defense against such a suit.

All things considered, it appears that the state of Colo-
rado should take some active steps to insure that the terms of the
Rio Grande Compact are complied with. To that end, a staff study
between members of our staff and the staff of the state engineer was
instituted some time ago. Enclosed herewith is a memorandum from our
chief engineer setting forth the results of that staff study.

From the memorandum it can be seen that two rather simple
procedures could be instituted to insure that our scheduled deliveries
of water at tl1e New Mexico state line are met, as follows: