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Show On August 26, 1960 the Commissioner of Reclamation wrote to both the Upper and Lower Basin engineering groups requesting more detailed comments in regard to the problem of handling evaporation from Upper Basin Storage Units. The Bureau of Reclamation is revising the "General Principles" for filling the reservoirs of the Storage Units of the Colorado River Storage Project. It is anticipated that the revised draft of the "General Principles" will soon be transmitted to interested parties in the Colorado River Basin for study and consideration. Water Supply - San Juan River Basin Legislation to authorize the San Juan-Chama and Navajo Indian Irrigation Projects was introduced in the 85th and 86th Congresses. The Bill was approved by the United States Senate in both Congresses, but it died on both occasions in the United States House of Representatives. The main controversy in the House Subcommittee centered on the question of whether there was an adequate water supply in the basin for both the San Juan-Chama Project and the Animas-La Plata Project. The engineering staff of the Commission has investigated the water supply of the San Juan River Basin, taking into consideration the available water supply, proposed uses by and diversions for the potential San Juan - Chama Project, Navajo Indian Irrigation Project, Animas - La Plata Project, and the operation of Navajo Dam and Reservoir. The Commission study covered the period 1942-1957. This period includes the four extremely dry years, 1953 through 1956. This period of four consecutive drouth years is unique. The run-off records of the San Juan River Basin from 1913 to date show no other comparable sequence of years of low runoff. San Juan - Chama Project The operation of the San Juan - Chama Project, both in the initial stage and full development, was studied on a monthly basis to determine the total water available for the project development while at the same time providing for by-pass requirements for downstream uses. The results of the study for the period 1942-'57 indicate that it would have been possible with the assumed canal capacities to have diverted sufficient water from the San Juan River Basin to the Rio Grande Basin for the initial phase of the San Juan-Chama Project. Navajo Dam and Reservoir Operation With the inflow assumed to be reduced by the San Juan-Chama Project, the operation of the Navajo Dam and Reservoir was investigated for study years 1942-'57 in order to ascertain its annual yield of water. 23 |