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<br />XXXVI <br /> <br />LETTER OF TRANI:SMl'l"!'AL <br /> <br />we,re n.lmost identiclll. Furt.her, the indicated J'eduction in t.he smount. <br />of debi tAree wat.er in stora,gc at. the end of the study period is not <br />necessllrilv fLn indication of injury to C010l'lldo. The qlH'st.ion of <br />actual injllry rests upon water-suppl.y conditions wllich prevail in the <br />yenl'~ subsequent. to those studied. The importnnt faet is t.llat the <br />water supplies avnilable to Colorado Inml. is impro\"ed by the New <br />Mexieo project. <br />On the ot.her huntl, the report. shows that condit,ions in t.be middle <br />Rio Grflnde Volley will he gJ'Plll.ly impro\"cd hy t',onstruction of the <br />proposed New l\fexico project (assuming in eoch insLn.nce that. t.he <br />Colorado project is construded). Shortnges in New ~dexico will <br />be reduced .50,200 ncre-feet, water in st.orng(' in New l\Iexieo reser- <br />voirs will he in('rcnsl~rr 76,500 ncre-feet, lllld the New Jdex;co cmn- <br />pact. obligation will he chnIlged from a 43,800 ncre-foot dehit to a <br />174,000 nere-foot credit., <br />It is cvident that bot.h the basin and New l\:Iexico gain in usable <br />watcr if the Middle Valley prnjecL is put into operutiou, <br />4. In t.he report there hns been an nttf.'nlpt to eOlllputc combined <br />costs nnd henefits of the flood-conLrol nnd rcclamutrion phuscs of the <br />projl'C:t. New 1-[exieo submits that. computltt.ion of benefits for the <br />reclalll:l.tioll phase and for thc Hood-control phase cnnnntr IlI~ reeonci]('d <br />because of t.he pI'e\'!liling difference in policies of the t.wo departmeHts. <br />The attempt to cCJ111bine the ecoIlomics of t,he two phuses hus re~ulted <br />onlr in confusion and should not have heen undertaken. <br />[;. Tin' BUI'(~ilU of H(~clllm[l,t,jon hns no basis or I1Ilt.llOrity for attempt- <br />ing to brenk down total flood-cont.ro] costs illto tile SCpAl'atr- omollnts <br />foJ' sediment control nnd flood control which appear in purngl'nph 47, <br />pl1g'c Ii!, of the I'cport.. The costs find bencfit.s of the flood-control <br />phase of the pt'oject quoted in t.lu:~ Bureau report. should he identical <br />with t.hose submitted by t.he Corps of Enginecl.s becum~e Llwse csti- <br />mut.es are n corps responsibility. <br />B. Alt-ltough mueh t,inw and effort \\"f1S spent in r.ollccting find coordi- <br />nating the (hlt.tt on consumptive use of wntcf, t.lle State of New Ivlexieo <br />feds trhnt the Bureau of RcCll1l11utrion lias erred ill some of tll(~ llSSllmp- <br />ti?l1s concerning consumpt.i \'8 usps of water in the 1'Iiddk Valley. <br />"Ltrh rdercnc.e to the t.tlbl~ entitled "Consumptive Use of Water," <br />page tj7 of the re~urL, lrlte fullowilig (,OI1l111r~nts fire offered: <br />(u) TIle Burenu of Reelnmation has:. assumed thnt" in tile fut.ure, <br />bosquc will be pC'rmitt.ed to gl'O\\-' inside trhe Hoodwa'y lc\'ees to lL <br />Jl('flf'.1llltximum dCllsit,Y of gl'O\"th. Such a comlitio1l CUJlJlot be <br />flssllmecl if the effectiveness of the flood way is t.o bE' mnintailled. <br />Pro\"isions must. be nlllde t.o muint.ain tile channel rpa-"onflbly free of <br />hea\'y vegl,_ti\Te gl'o\vth. If this is done, t.he Inrg-e. conRlI1npti\'l~ uSe uf <br />fut.ure bosque insidc the levees willlw suostantinlJy reduced fl'Olll tlmt <br />shown On puge 57 of the report, <br />(b) The est.imfltrcd increase of irrigated acreage from 74,920 acres <br />to 98,341 is not realist.ie. <br />(c) Furt.her e,idence of the conservnt.ive nature of the ~ollsumpt,ive <br />llse est.imat,es is illdicllt,cd hy the fnct t.Jlllt, the Burenu estjmates t.hllt. <br />~he rate of use of hosque lands will increase from ~,93 acre-feet per <br />acre to 4,53 acre-fe"t per ncre, New Mexieo feels t.hnt with the pro- <br />posed chmmel rectification 811Ch an increase in the rate of consllmpt.ive <br />use can hardly be expected, The e,timnted uses set forth in the report <br />are the maximum to .be expect.ed under the worst conditions whieh <br />might prevail alt<\r construction of the project. <br />