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Show 3. Fort Sumner Irrigation District, N. Mex., reclamation works consisting of a diversion dam and iirigation and drainage facilities to serve about 5,000 acres of irrigated land, developed as a private enterprise. Stages in Attaining Full Development The problem of realizing potential benefits from lands and waters and other resources of this pic- turesque and storied basin of the Rio Grande falls into two parts. One is rehabilitation and further development of the resource base. Some irrigation and flood control works have been completed, some are under construction. Much more remains to be done. A series of dams and levee systems has been proposed. These measures apply generally to the entire basin. The other part of the problem is rehabilitation of the depressed areas in the middle Rio Grande and the upper Pecos. This rehabilitation is the more difficult, but until it is solved works of the first part will not fully serve their purposes. In fact, solution of the two problems must be worked out together. Rehabilitation of the economic struc- ture of communities of the two areas calls for a pene- trating diagnosis of their maladjustment. The time necessary to achieve full development and the rate at which it can be done cannot be fore- cast because of unpredictable economic and political considerations. Rate and adequacy of progress will depend in large measure upon awareness by local and State agencies of the nature of measures re- quired and their determination to accomplish them with whatever assistance can be supplied by the Fed- eral Government. The initial stages for the basin as a whole as now foreseen will include completion of projects now under construction and projects which have been authorized. It is, however, expected that such works will be integrated into projects for full re- habilitation of the land base and economic struc- ture of the depressed areas. These are listed below. Projects under Construction A. Willow Creek Channel Improvement, Willow Creek, Colo., by Corps of Engineers for local pro- tection of Creede, Colo. B. Platoro Dam and Reservoir, Conejos River, Colo., by Bureau of Reclamation, for irrigation and flood control, element of the San Luis Valley Project. C. Jemez Canyon Dam and Reservoir, Jemez Creek, N. Mex., by Corps of Engineers for flood and sediment control in the middle Rio Grande Valley. D. Fort Sumner Irrigation Project, N. Mex., rehabilitation of irrigation facilities serving the Fort Sumner Irrigation District by the Bureau of Rec- lamation. E. Falcon Dam and Reservoir, Mexico and Texas, by the International Boundary and Water Commission for irrigation and power. Projects Approved for Construction in the Near Future A. Chamita Dam and Reservoir Project, Rio Chama, N. Mex., by Corps of Engineers for flood and sediment control and possible hydroelectric power. B. Rio Grande Floodway, Rio Grande, N. Mex., by Corps of Engineers and Bureau of Reclamation for flood and sediment control, middle Rio Grande Valley. C. Bluewater Floodway, Bluewater Creek, N. Mex., by the Corps of Engineers for local flood pro- tection for the Bluewater-Toltec irrigation district. D. Dams and other works planned by the Inter- national Boundary and Water Commission for irri- gation, power, and other uses. Other Authorized Projects The Wagon Wheel Gap Dam and Reservoir, re- habilitation and extension of Middle Rio Grande Conservancy Works, the Valley Gravity Project in the lower Rio Grande for irrigation, and Wemi- nuche Pass Diversion Canal. Special Problems of Depressed Areas Like other parts of the semiarid West, scarce water resources limit the acreage of cropland in the Rio Grande Basin. Since water resources are fully appropriated, the only hope for expanding the cropped acreage is by importation of water from other basins, capture of flood waters that escape to the Gulf of Mexico, and salvage of water consumed in stream channels and wasted in irrigation. These additions to present water supplies will involve tremendous engineering, financial, and legal difficulties. 349 |
