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<br />~::~) <br />;,;;;~;.- <br /> <br />in 1896 1Ihi.ch prevented reservoir construction on the Rio Grande, both <br /> <br />in Colorado and New Mexico. by the refusal of the Government to grant <br /> <br />rights-of-way over public lands for the oonstruction of such reservoirs. <br /> <br />However, the Gove1"Illllent di d construct the Elephant Butte Reservoir, <br />with oapaoity of 2,600,000 acre feet. for the stated purpose of' enabling <br />the United Staw~to deliver the 60,000 acre feet per annum to Mexioo, <br /> <br />provided for in a Treaty which was signed in 1907. <br /> <br />As a part of the Elephant Butte Reservoir project, tha <br /> <br />Rio Grande reclamation project was initiated to use surplus waters <br /> <br />stored and made available by the Reservoir. It was originally contem- <br />plated that 154,000 acres of land would be irrigated by this project, <br />but the area has been increased by the addition of'the so-called <br /> <br />Tornillo unit, so at presant the irrigated area in the projeot is about <br /> <br />162,000 acres. The Hudspeth District of about 13,000 aores also has <br /> <br />been developed sinoe 1925 to use waste waters i'r0lll the Rio Grande project. <br /> <br />The major problem concerning the uses of the river, so far <br /> <br />as Colorado is conoerned, is the same as it was in the 1890's, viz., the <br /> <br />provision of suffioient storage capacity to make the flow of' the stream <br /> <br />parallel nth the irrigation demand for the lands that are now irrigated <br /> <br />and for l'Ihioh the irrigation works were provided prior to 1890. The <br /> <br />construction of such necessary storage as has been indioated was imposs- <br /> <br />ible, due to the embargo that was placed upon the river until such <br /> <br />embargo was lifted in 1925. However, since that time, the construction <br /> <br />of reservoirs on the Rio Grande in Colorado has been vigorously resisted <br /> <br />-3- <br /> <br />... ", <br />t., .~ <br /> <br />r " ,.... <br />..> t~.. 0 <br />.- -' <br />