WSP05238

• File Number: 8509
• Description: San Luis Valley
• State: CO
• Basin: Rio Grande
• Water Division: 3
• Date: 2/26/1935
• Title: Report of San Luis Valley Drain Committee to Administrator Harold L. Ickes
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

.~

\
,c

~
r~

,
~..
,

,
~

,

~'

~
t"....
~\.t
('1
l.,_~)
c.

supply and drainage system, is not less than 500,000 acres. As the

so-called trough of the valley is well over to'ViD.rd the base of the

Snngre de Cristo R.onge on tho <lastern side, the bulk of the land lies

to the west and northwest.

Irrigation has depended on the use of the ",ater of local

strea.ms of the basin and on large di versi ons from the Rio Grande

into the southwestern part of the irrigated territory.

The history of the dovelopment is interesting. Tho first

area irrigated was along tho Alamosa-Salida r~ilroad line, in the

lower part of the trough imrnediQtoly west of and parallel to the

natural seeped area. In this section of the basin a broad belt of

land was rapidly brought under irrigation. Drainage difi'iculties

soon developed that led to progressive abandonment of lands along

the eastern border of this ir6gated zone and to its progressive

extension westvmrd. As years went by, this progressive shifting of

the irrigated zone westvmrd continued lmtil its western margin had

reached the extreme west side of the valley and the broad stretch

of once- occupied lands to the eastward was left to revert to its

original state, badly damaged, ho.rever, by alkali.

Drainage of th e y'restern area then be~me necessB.:F\J I and. the

,'mters developed thereby aided in a progressive reoccupation of a

part of the neighboring lands to the eastvmrd that were once occupied

and then abandoned on account of becoming ,"mter-logged and affected

by alkali.

5

L