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<br /> <br />SUMMARY SHEETS <br />DEFINITE PLAN REPORT <br />CLOSED BASIN DIVISION <br />SAN LUIS VALLEY PROJECT, COLORADO <br /> <br />AUTHORIZATION <br /> <br />The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to construct, operate, and <br />maintain the Closed Basin Division of the San Luis Valley Project in <br />accordance with Public Law 92-514, 92d Congress, S. 520, dated <br />October 20, 1972. <br /> <br />LOCATION <br /> <br />The Closed Basin Division is located in south-central Colorado in <br />Alamosa and Saguache Counties in a topographic basin called the Closed <br />Basin. This basin is in the northern part of the San Luis Valley, north <br />of the towns of Alamosa and Monte Vista. The San Luis Valley is in the <br />uppermost part of the great valley of the Rio Grande. The Closed Basin <br />has a surface area of 2,940 square miles. Drainage in this area is <br />limited to internal surface drainage; streams within the basin do not <br />drain to the Rio Grande. <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />The primary purpose of the project is to deliver water to the <br />Rio Grande to assist the State of Colorado in meeting its commitments <br />for water deliveries to the States of New Mexico and Texas under the <br />Rio Grande Compact of 1939 and to assist the United States in meeting its <br />commitments to Mexico under the Rio Grande Convention of 1906. The <br />project will also provide for (1) deliveries of water to the Alamosa <br />National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), (2) establishment of Mishak NWR, (3) <br />stabilization of the water level of San Luis Lake at about 890 surface <br />acres, (4) development of recreational facilities at San Luis Lake, and <br />(5) fish and wildlife enhancement. Water provided by the project will <br />be pumped from an unconfined ground water aquifer in the Closed Basin <br />and delivered by a conveyance channel to the Rio Grande. The ground <br />water to be provided is presently being lost through evapotranspiration. <br />The project will be developed in stages over a 10-year period. Water <br />production information from each stage will be used to determine well <br />field designs and yield projections for the following stage. An average <br />of about 100,600 acre-feet per year is the pumped yield objective. Of <br />this amount, 5,300 acre-feet will be delivered to the existing Alamosa <br />NWR, about 5,500 acre-feet will be lost (evaporation and maintenance <br />losses), and the remaining 89,800 acre-feet will be delivered to, the <br />Rio Grande annually. <br /> <br />,.. .'..1. ') <br />I,. 'i; 3" <br />'-- \,,1 V ~.' <br /> <br />a <br />