Sincerely Hugh L. Fuchs Del Norte
With the 2015 irrigation season starting this week with a couple of start early exceptions, water to irrigate fields and pastures is of vital importance. This interest is brought into keen focus by the Rio Grande Compact delivery schedule. Estimates used for planning yearly deliveries are based on various SNOTEL sites. Of particular interest is the snowstorm of Feb. 21 and following days. The percentage of average figure given for the Rio Grande Basin was more favorable than for the San Juan Basin before and after the storm. This is strange because the storm produced heavy snow in the San Juans before it reached the Rio Grande.
If estimates are too high, then over delivery occurs. This means less water left here for irrigation. A percentage production loss occurs and bills can’t be paid with this kind of loss.
To supplement Rio Grande Compact deliveries, wells were drilled in the Closed Basin to harvest so called “lost water.” Estimates were so grossly high compared to actual production that many people called the Closed Basin Project a scam. To complicate matters further, the salinity requirements (tds) have determined that some of the water can’t be used for RG Compact payment. If the water is too salty for inclusion in river flow, how can it be suitable for use in wildlife refuges? Or is this a clever way to provide them with water they are not legally entitled to?
The same questions should be raised for muddy water that may exceed turbidity requirements. If this is the case, water is being sent downstream that Colorado is not getting credit for. More transparency is needed here.
Recently, reservoir storage has been utilized as a viable management tool to allocate RG Compact payments. This is real interesting from an historical aspect as the federal government could have required, but didn’t, the construction of a dam in the RG Gorge near Pilar, N.M. This would have allowed storage of Colorado’s share of RG Compact water and delivery to N.M., Texas and Mexico. Hydroelectric power could have been an important byproduct. This project was possible because the technology was already demonstrated in construction of Hoover (Boulder) Dam. Several states and Mexico were involved there just as they would have been here. What a lost opportunity!