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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />If')- <br /> <br />c <br /> <br />C <br />o <br />P <br />y <br /> <br />COLORADO ~IATER CONSERVATION BOARD <br />215 State Services Building <br />1525 Sherman Street <br />Denver 3, Colorado <br /> <br />January 3, 1963 <br /> <br />The Honorable Stewart L. Udall <br />Secretary of the Interior <br />Interior Building <br />Washington 25, D. C. Re: <br /> <br />737 <br />ANIMAS-LA PLATA PROJECT <br />Colorado and New Mexico <br /> <br />My dear Mr. Secretary: <br /> <br />Under date of October 12, 1962, there was forwarded to the State <br />of Colorado your proposed report on the Animas-La Plata Project, <br />Colorado and New Mexico, dated February 1962. The proposed report <br />was submitted for our review under the Flood Control Act of 1944. <br />This review has now been completed and our comments are set forth <br />herewith. <br /> <br />The project as contemplated would increase the average annual water <br />supply of the project area by about 225,000 acre-feet, for the irri- <br />gation of farm lands in Colorado and New Mexico, including lands <br />owned by or held in trust for the Ute Indians. About 4,000 acre- <br />feet of water would also be made available by exchange to improve <br />the operation of the Florida project, now under construction. Some <br />9,000 acre-feet of water annually would be made available to the <br />City of Durango, which is now experiencing a growing critical short- <br />age of municipal water supplies. The project would also make a <br />major contribution to fish and wildlife conservation and recreation. <br /> <br />We have closely followed the progress of the project investigation <br />since its inception. We are extremely pleased with both the rapid- <br />ity and thoroughness which have gone into the now completed project <br />report. ~le fully concur with the findings and recommendations con- <br />tained in the report. We are not in complete accord, however, with <br />one of the assumptions governing the water supply studies. <br /> <br />The estimate of water which could be diverted and used from the <br />Animas and La Plata Rivers has been determined from the recorded <br />period of years 1928-1957. On page 38 of the report it is stated <br />that "This estimate was based on the assumption that any flows <br />found to be surplus to established water rights on the San Juan <br />River below Farmington would be divided between the Animas-La Plata <br />