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1998 report to the RIo Grande Compact Commission Bureau of Reclamation SAN LUIS VALLEY PROJECT, COLORADO Conejos Division, Platoro Reservoir Platoro Reservoir, Conejos portion of the San Luis Valley Project, is operated by the Conejos Water Conservancy District, with its office in Manassa, Colorado. Platoro Reservoir started the year with a storage content of 27,917 acre-feet (af). Supplemental releases to meet the demand were made throughout out the summer and fall. Total supplemental water released was 21,064 af. There were no flood control operations in 1998. In September 1998, the District and Reclamation conducted a periodic review of the site, as well as operation and maintenance procedures. The facility was deemed to be in good shape with a requirement for installation of a culvert near the valve house and the installation of a security gate on the road to the valve house. '- ,. ~. Closed Basin Division ~~ :~ The Alamosa Field Division of the Albuquerque Area Office operates and oversees the maintenance of the water salvage project constructed in the Closed Basin area of the San Luis Valley, Colorado. It is a ground water salvage project which pumps water that would otherwise be lost through evapotranspiration, from a shallow, unconfined aquifer. The project consists of a field of 170 wells distributed throughout an area of approximately 130,000 acres, 115 miles of pipeline laterals, 42 miles of conveyance canal, 82 boundary observation well sites, a complex remote control and monitoring system, 96 miles of overhead primary electric lines, 31 miles of underground primary lines, and 42 miles of underground secondary lines - a total of 169 miles of electrical distribution system. " " r~ :.: :.~ ;'1 (! Reclamation continues working under the guidance of the Closed Basin Operating Committee, using appropriate operating criteria as the framework for management of Closed Basin operations and water deliveries. .f i Closed Basin - Operations and Maintenance ;.: 'i! ''- Operations The project was pumped at a capacity consistent with cold weather operations from the first of January through most of March. From spring through fall, deliveries ranged from 60 to 30 cfs. A total of 34,310 af of project water was delivered to various points, including 29,980 af creditable to the Rio Grande pursuant to the Rio Grande Compact. Closed Basin water deliveries in 1998 included deliveries to the Blanca Wildlife Habitat Area, Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge, San Luis Lake, and the Rio Grande. Table 1 summarizes 1998 operations of the project. -2-