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<br />"'D <br />i:->: <br /><-;"~ <br /> <br />Because the reservations were created prior to non-Indian <br />settlement in the Four Corners Area, the tribes' rights on local <br />rivers would receive the highest priority and would curtail other <br />water uses until the Indian water right requirements were <br />satisfied. <br /> <br />The Bureau of Indian Affairs has made a detailed preliminary <br />analysis of the agricultural water claims of the two tribes, and <br />the State Engineer of Colorado has attempted to project the <br />impact of the Indian claims on non-Indian water users. On those <br />streams and rivers with high water use tribal claims could have <br />a severe impact on municipal and industrial water users. In the <br />Mancos and La Plata River drainages, for example, all non-Indian <br />irrigation would be eliminated, and even then tribal claims would <br />only be partially satisfied. <br /> <br />The primary source of Durango's municipal water, the Florida <br />River, could also receive a significant impact from tribal <br />claims. On the Animas River where the city's water rights are <br />less reliable, the situation could be even Worse. In fact, <br />during years of water shortage the Indian tribes could well be <br />the only major water users on nUmerous streams and rivers in the <br />San Juan River Basin. After years of planning, the Animas'-La <br />Plata Project is the most feasible solution to eliminating <br />competition between the Indian Tribes and non-Indian water users. <br />