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<br />one of the ten largest earth dams in
<br />the United States.
<br />
<br />The 1960 Act also spelled out criteria
<br />under which the four dams of the
<br />Middle Rio Grande Project (Abiquiu,
<br />Cochih, Galisteo, and Jemez dams)
<br />must operate. For instance, releases
<br />of floodwater from reservoir storage
<br />must generally be undertaken at the
<br />maximum rate of flow that can be
<br />safely carried by the downstream riv-
<br />erbed, Also, the Act established crite,
<br />ria to inhibit intervening irrigators
<br />from diverting summertime releases
<br />of floodwater that belong to users
<br />below Elephant Butte. Another provi-
<br />sion required that there be no carry-
<br />over storage of the previous year's
<br />water after March 31. The Act, how-
<br />ever, allows for departure from these
<br />criteria upon the advice and consent
<br />of the Rio Grande Compact Commis-
<br />sion. Finally, although the dams are
<br />to be "operated solely for flood con-
<br />trol and sediment control" under the
<br />1960 Act, a provision allows water
<br />storage for permanent fish and
<br />recreational pools so long as their
<br />Source is water imported from out-
<br />side the Rio Grande basin. This final
<br />clause was included in anticipation of
<br />the approvai of the San juan-Chama
<br />Project for trans basin water impor-
<br />tation.
<br />
<br />THE SAN jUAN,CHAMA PROJECT
<br />
<br />The idea of importing water from the
<br />Colorado River basin into the Rio
<br />Grande of New Mexico had been seri-
<br />ously assessed ever since the Rio
<br />Grande Joint Investigation of 1938
<br />and the signing of the Upper Colo.
<br />rado Basin Compact of 1948, In 1962,
<br />Congress authorized the transbasin
<br />diversion of San Juan basin water in
<br />an amount that would provide a firm
<br />yield of 94,000 af to Rio Grande users
<br />for irrigation, domestic, industrial,
<br />recreational, fish, and wildlife pur-
<br />poses. The Project, constructed by
<br />the Bureau of Reclamation, first deliv-
<br />ered water to the Rio Grande basin in
<br />1970,
<br />
<br />The San juan-Chama (SjC) Project
<br />diverts flow from three streams in the
<br />San Juan River headwaters, carries
<br />the water in tunnels bored through
<br />
<br />the mountains, and discharges the
<br />flow into Willow Creek, a tributary of
<br />the Rio Chama. Willow Creek flows
<br />into Heron Reservoir, a 400,000 af
<br />facility constructed to store project
<br />waters only; no water natural to the
<br />Rio Chama can be legally stored at
<br />Heron. The Bureau of Reclamation
<br />then releases the water in accordance
<br />with the demands of users with
<br />whom it has contracted for project
<br />deliveries.
<br />
<br />The city of Albuquerque is by far the
<br />largest purchaser of SJC water:. con-
<br />tracting for 48,200 ai/yr, nearly half
<br />the total amount imported. The city
<br />pays about a million dollars each year
<br />plus several hundred thousand dol-
<br />lars annually in operating and main-
<br />tenance fees. The MRGCD is the next
<br />biggest purchaser (20,900 ai/yr), with
<br />Santa Fe, Espanola, Taos, and other
<br />towns and entities contracting for
<br />smaller amounts. Water from the pro-
<br />ject is not actually diverted by the
<br />towns and cities for municipal use.
<br />Instead, the SJC releases are
<br />designed to offset the river depletions
<br />caused by expanded municipal well
<br />use that occurred after the 1956
<br />ground water basin was declared by
<br />the State Engineer.
<br />
<br />Another component of the SjC Pro-
<br />ject is the Pojoaque Tributary Unit.
<br />Congress authorized construction of
<br />the Nambe Falls Dam in the Pojoaque
<br />watershed to provide a supplemental
<br />water supply for local irrigators.
<br />Releases of imported SIC water from
<br />Heron Reservoir are credited against
<br />depletions created in the Rio Grande
<br />by the Pojoaque Unit diversions.
<br />
<br />RESERVOIR OPERATION
<br />IN THE 1980s
<br />
<br />By 1980, most of the plumbing on the
<br />Rio Grande and its tributaries was in
<br />place. Levees, dams, and channels
<br />helped to control the flow and allow
<br />for more certainty of water deliveries.
<br />The influx of San Juan-Chama water
<br />into the basin brought increased flexi-
<br />bility in managing the area's reser-
<br />voirs, Although flood and sediment
<br />control remain the primary function
<br />of most of the dams, storage and
<br />releases for recreation, irrigation sup-
<br />
<br />15
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<br />: g)iIE,CLOSEO:BAS1t:i PaolEcr
<br />
<br />r1h~<9~~ed Ba~in:ri6ject was authoriZed'
<br />by Congress in 1972 to salvage roughly
<br />, ]00,000 at annually from the Rio Granae
<br />~;'~aoftol()^~ado.,ThiS waje't of the ..,
<br />{.Bp.rea~.of~lam<1tiQn iiwolvesa,series of
<br />'. '~lls andcapals 'tl:tat transport water. from
<br />:;it~Et'.Gl(j~e~~€sin :<which has no hydro~
<br />>logic o,lftl~t)to th~ Rio Grande channel.
<br />: -J~~ co.i>fof.tl1e project is coll1P!etely
<br />['s~l)tilderedi?Y th,~ ~ed,eralgovei1l111ent;
<br />i ',~l)~ is ~~timated to,tota1.$7Z.q~1lion wren
<br />:,.comple~e~ TIle ~?r1ystages pfthe project
<br />"tye~efu:\ished if,'J985,ry,ith an estimated
<br />;. ill ~placecapacity to,~ransport:12,00() a~/yr
<br />i to,tlje Rio Grande.
<br />
<br />~,PO:~~19~?COLORAOO RESERVOl~RS .
<br />
<br />iC~tt?~P,r,QviSiQn~ of tile cornp1lt;t111ak~1!
<br />:,lJl?re,S~T1se'fl:pm ~he viewpoint of 193~
<br />"."I1$UllJptl~llstl1anfrOtn the facts in:the
<br />r:1980SyFo~'~nst~Ilce~ ,Arti~.IJ"Vr ~peaks' of
<br />iCpI9radb"storingits4e~its inpost-~937
<br />~'rese,rvoirf~1sprJvisi()hwaSjnduded t;
<br />:!,.~itb:theat1tidpa~on,W'at majf?( federal,
<br />, dilpl PrOj~cts, (e,g, Wag"!' Wheel Cap
<br />;)with('i, PtQPo~d capacityo( 1l11illion,(fD_
<br />r,Wuldbe,built'ln Colorado's Rio Grande'
<br />;: :~.,.: "':' ..... " '. ".'-',,' ',',. ': . <. :,
<br />1:-basitLSinte :1937, h?w(wer;',only't~e
<br />:1',rl~:tolf,':~~s~~oir has, b,een constructed
<br />:':'~ittl,a;~S~~1:e,capac~t'yofq4,OOO .iI;.
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