The Hydrologic Impacts From the Diversion of Winter Flows of ...

whether winter diversions from Cordova Creek for snowmaking
will impact the nearest existing water rights.
SNOWMAKING AT SKI RIO
Ski resorts generally produce most artificial snow in
the early season and depend upon natural snow through the
rest of the season (personal communication, Louis Abruzzo,
Sandia Peak Corp., 1988). Ski Rio's records indicate continuous
snowmaking throughout the 1987-88 ski season .
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From mid-November to late March approximately 54.5
acre-feet of Cordova creek water was diverted for snowmaking
at the resort. Ski Rio reported to Mike Pitel, with the New
Mexico Economic Development & Tourism Department, that their
base snowpack was 45 percent below normal for the winter of
1987-88 (Figure 9). Records from the New Mexico water Supply
Outlook (May 15, 1988) confirm that snowpack and
precipitation for the Rio Grande Basin were below
for late winter 1987-88 (Figure 10).
average
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