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'/', co c.:; co C\l <.:> o are Del Norte, Monte Vista and Alamosa, all l~cAted near the Rio Grande. Agricultural production and processing of agricultural products are major industries. Tourism and timber prod~tion ~',.I" . are also important sources of income in the area. Th,ere are>27,g,000 acres of irrigated crop land and meadow and pasture land. ,l,h,e'average annual withdrawal of water for irrigation has been 640.6 MGfl of sur- face water, and 1,35.6 MGD of groundwater, ,or a total'of 776.2 MGD. The average annual surface water into the area ,is 578.6 MGD in the Rio l;;rande at Del Norte, and 592.0 MGD,intributary streams, or a, total of 1,170.6 MGD. (I) Water Issues. There is a shortage of water to satisfy the irrigation requirements. The averageannual:withdrawal requirements for irrigation is 952.1 MGD, and the average annual withdrawal has been 776.2 MGD, thus leaving an annual shortage of 175.9 MGD (197,060 a.f.). Irrigation diversions reduce the flow in the Rio Grande,and Conejos Rivers frequently to near ,zero flows in the lower reaches of the rivers during the irrigation season'. The low flows cause the Rio Grande to become polluted below Alamosa where the Alamosa lagoons contribute approximately one-fifth of J;he total river Jlow dur:lng these low flow conditions. During the summer'and la't:e fall almost the entire flow in the Rio Grande below Monte Vista is der,iyed,t'rom irrigation return flows, which carry high concentrations of di,isolved solids and moderate concentrations, of sulfat\!s, nitrates and nU,trients. '" ."}"l The AlamQsa River is pollut.ed in 'the form of acidic water and high concentration8 of dis801vedmetl'ls' 'fronl the 'tributari'~s of" Iron Fork, Alum Creek, Bitt'~r Creek and W'ig/1tman Fork. Th.~ 'pollu- tion l'ppears..to be from natural sources except on Wightman'Fork,:where at least some of the high concentrations come from mining oper~tions. The c.onejos River is polluted by high concentrations of dissolVjed, heavy metals from l' small amount of overflow from a mine tailings pond near the Town of Platoro. v (2) Related Land Issues. The ~ommunities of Monte Vistaind Alamosa are subject to damaging floods on tpe Rio Grande. The com- munities of Capl,llin, Guadalupe, La Jara and San Luis 'lire subject to flooding from tributary streams. Inundation pf agricultural lands, fl'rmsteads and roads; and irrigation systems from:,spring snowmelt and storm runoff occurs on a regular basis. Damaging wind erosion, and erosion and sediment damages from storm runoff occurs on unprotected cropp,ed l.ands, and overgrazed pasture lands. Wind erosion damages are particularly severe in Costilla County. (3) Institutional and Financial Issues. Same as in Problem Areas 1 and 2. 10 ,-;'....,.'-.