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Show A. Problems in Beneficial Use 1. Effects of Expanding Defense Facilities on Water Supply and Reservation of Water for Municipal and Industrial Purposes The Problem Extent to which defense facilities, municipalities and industries compete with irrigation for water. The Situation The flow of the Rio Grande and its tributaries is fully appropriated and divided in accordance with existing compacts and treaties. Those divisions of water do not allow for substantial expansion of irrigation; neither do they anticipate major in- creased use by municipalities or other uses. Pri- ority of right to water includes, first, water con- trolled by treaty; second, that controlled by State compacts; and third, that allotted by State water rights. Two specific examples of resulting conflict in the Rio Grande Basin follow. The Elephant Butte Reservoir was constructed in 1916 and the Caballo Reservoir in 1938. The latter, about 20 miles below Elephant Butte Dam, provided for regulation of releases from Elephant Butte power plant. These two reservoirs are op- erated jointly to provide a regulated water supply to satisfy water rights on 155,000 acres of irrigated land on thie Rio Grande project and to develop hydroelectric power. No storage is allocated in either resexvoir for urban water supply. Full ca- pacities and operating facilities of the reservoirs are required for power and irrigation. Rapid growth of El Paso, within the Rio Grande Irriga- tion Project, has been attributable, in part, to the irrigation project. For the past several years the city has been deficient in water supply for domestic and industrial purposes, for which water generally is recognized as having the highest use value. However, since the water in the Rio Grande has been fully appropriated, no surplus water is avail- able for appropriation by the city of El Paso. The city has the right to acquire water-right lands from the landowners on the Texas portion of the Rio Grande Irrigation Project through condemnation if necessary. The city has followed this procedure in the past but is continually faced with rapidly in-, creasing water requirements. The acquisition of such land r-esults in turning formerly irrigated land back to desert. The farmers affected have been forced to move to other areas or seek means other than farming to maintain their livelihood. Another example exists in the Espanola-Albu- querque area of die Rio Grande Basin. This area has developed a stable economy over a period of many years, including a city centered in and around the Middle Rio Grande Irrigation Project. All available water has been appropriated and put to beneficial use. This was the situation at the start of World War II. Early in the war, this area was selected as a location for large defense establish- ments, including the Los Alamos Atomic Energy Development Plant, the Sandia Base, and related facilities. The large influx of defense and indus- trial workers resulted in an increase in the require- ment for domestic and industrial water. Because of the nature of the operations, water was made available, further depleting the already deficient water supply and resulting in a conflict in use of available water. The ground water in this area has several sources, namely, underflow from the mesas on both sides of the valley, seepage from the canals, local rainfall, and seepage from irrigated lands. The only ob- vious avenue of escape for this water is in the valley which is drained by the Rio Grande. Withdrawal of the ground water by the rapidly growing munici- pality of Albuquerque reduces the surface flow of the river upon which irrigated agriculture depends. If domestic and industrial requirements continue to expand, the economy of the highly settled and developed irrigated area will be seriously affected. Conclusions Water has been made available for national de- fense needs in the Rio Grande Basin. However, it is suggested that before additional defense activ- ities are centered in the area, full consideration should be given to the water problem and the effect that the activity will have upon water supplies. Municipal needs also will take precedence over most other uses of water. Municipalities can al- ways pay more than irrigators for water to satisfy their needs. As municipalities also depend to a considerable extent upon a healthy agriculture, they must exercise care in acquiring water so as not to upset the economy of the locality. Similarly, industry too can pay more for its water than can agriculture, and for the same amount of 318 |