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Rio Grande Valley (New Mexico)

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The Rio Grande Valley is the river valley carved out by the Rio Grande as it flows through the American Southwest and northeastern Mexico , forming a part of the border region . In the US state of New Mexico , the river flows mostly north to south, and forms a valley near Cochiti Pueblo to the state line near El Paso, Texas along the floors of the large sedimentary basins of the Rio Grande Rift , and includes the narrow sections between the basins. It has been historically settled first by the Pueblo peoples , the Spanish , the Mexicans , and finally Anglo-Americans . As the largest river in the state, some of its most populous cities are located wholly or partially in the valley, including Albuquerque , New Mexico's largest city.

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135-612: The Rio Grande Valley is vital to the state's surface and groundwater municipal water supply , recreation , and agriculture , including irrigated farmland , the Rio Grande Valley AVA , the Mesilla Valley AVA , and the largest acreages of land for growing chile peppers and pecans in the United States , accounting for 77% and 14% of US production, respectively. The middle Rio Grande Valley begins at Cochiti Lake where

270-689: A gunman killed 10 people , including a police officer, in a King Soopers supermarket in Boulder . In an instance of anti-LGBT violence , a gunman killed 5 people at a nightclub in Colorado Springs during the night of November 19–20, 2022. Four warships of the U.S. Navy have been named the USS Colorado . The first USS Colorado was named for the Colorado River and served in the Civil War and later

405-640: A central playa . An axial river existed in the Espanola Basin as early as 13 million years ago, reaching the Santo Domingo Basin by 6.9 million years ago. However, at this time, the river drained into a playa in the southern Albuquerque Basin where it deposited the Popotosa Formation . The ancestral Rio Grande progressively integrated basins to the south, reaching the Palomas basin by 4.5 million years,

540-406: A central plaza. The area was an important crossing in the valley since ancient times. Here, a good ford of the river lined with the path to an important mountain pass Between 1591 and 1942, 82 floods with flows greater than 10,000 cubic feet per second of flow were recorded. Flooding resulted from seasonal meltwater from snow in the northern mountains in the spring, and from storm runoff during

675-415: A layer of calcium carbonate . Corrosion inhibitors are often added to reduce release of metals into the water. Common corrosion inhibitors added to the water are phosphates and silicates . Maintenance of a biologically safe drinking water is another goal in water distribution. Typically, a chlorine based disinfectant , such as sodium hypochlorite or monochloramine is added to the water as it leaves

810-421: A long term, due to the uncertainty of the future demand”. It is preferable to provide extra pipe capacity to cope with unexpected demand growth and with water outages. The problem changes from a single objective optimization problem (minimizing cost), to a multi-objective optimization problem (minimizing cost and maximizing flow capacity). To solve a multi-objective optimization problem, it is necessary to convert

945-648: A major industry in Colorado. This period became known locally as the Carnation Gold Rush . Poor labor conditions and discontent among miners resulted in several major clashes between strikers and the Colorado National Guard , including the 1903–1904 Western Federation of Miners Strike and Colorado Coalfield War , the latter of which included the Ludlow massacre that killed a dozen women and children. Both

1080-453: A metallic taste. Release of lead can occur from the solder used to join copper pipe together or from brass fixtures . Copper and lead levels at the consumer's tap are regulated to protect consumer health. Utilities will often adjust the chemistry of the water before distribution to minimize its corrosiveness. The simplest adjustment involves control of pH and alkalinity to produce a water that tends to passivate corrosion by depositing

1215-465: A price in the market; water often becomes a business for private companies, which earn a profit by putting a higher price on water, which imposes a barrier for lower-income people. The Millennium Development Goals propose the changes required. Goal 6 of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals is to "Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all". This

1350-628: A rapid decline in the organization's power, with membership waning significantly by the end of the 1920s. Colorado became the first western state to host a major political convention when the Democratic Party met in Denver in 1908. By the U.S. census in 1930 , the population of Colorado first exceeded one million residents. Colorado suffered greatly through the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl of

1485-523: A set of rules and policies to overcome expected future problems. There are many international documents with interesting, but not very specific, ideas and therefore they are not put into practice. Recommendations have been made by the United Nations , such as the Dublin Statement on Water and Sustainable Development . The yield of a system can be measured by either its value or its net benefit. For

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1620-636: A significant portion of the extreme weather occurs in the least populated areas of the state. Thunderstorms are common east of the Continental Divide in the spring and summer, yet are usually brief. Hail is a common sight in the mountains east of the Divide and across the eastern Plains, especially the northeast part of the state. Hail is the most commonly reported warm-season severe weather hazard, and occasionally causes human injuries, as well as significant property damage. The eastern Plains are subject to some of

1755-570: A structural rift caused by the westward extension of the continental basement of the Western United States during the past 35 million years. The rift itself extends from Colorado in the north to Chihuahua in the south, where the river no longer flows. The valley is therefore also a rift valley . Before the Ancestral Rio Grande was integrated into a single watercourse, the valley was a series of closed bolsons each draining into

1890-461: A system is governed by multiple criteria, one being cost. If the benefit is fixed , the least cost design results in maximum benefit. However, the least cost approach normally results in a minimum capacity for a water supply network. A minimum cost model usually searches for the least cost solution (in pipe sizes), while satisfying the hydraulic constraints such as: required output pressures, maximum pipe flow rate and pipe flow velocities. The cost

2025-399: A water supply system, the true value or the net benefit is a reliable water supply service having adequate quantity and good quality of the product. For example, if the existing water supply of a city needs to be extended to supply a new municipality , the impact of the new branch of the system must be designed to supply the new needs, while maintaining supply to the old system. The design of

2160-409: A “Municipal Water Reuse System” which is a current approach to manage the rainwater. It applies a water reuse scheme for treated wastewater, on a municipal scale, to provide non-potable water for industry, household and municipal uses. This technology consists in separating the urine fraction of sanitary wastewater, and collecting it for recycling its nutrients . The feces and graywater fraction

2295-554: Is a state in the Western United States . It is one of the Mountain states , sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona , New Mexico , and Utah . It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas to the east, and Oklahoma to the southeast. Colorado is noted for its landscape of mountains , forests , high plains , mesas , canyons , plateaus , rivers , and desert lands. It encompasses most of

2430-411: Is a function of pipe diameters; therefore the optimization problem consists of finding a minimum cost solution by optimising pipe sizes to provide the minimum acceptable capacity. However, according to the authors of the paper entitled, “Method for optimizing design and rehabilitation of water distribution systems”, “the least capacity is not a desirable solution to a sustainable water supply network in

2565-512: Is a mix of high plains, foothills, and mountains. Northwest and west Colorado are predominantly mountainous, with some desert lands mixed in. Southwest and southern Colorado are a complex mixture of desert and mountain areas. The climate of the Eastern Plains is semi-arid ( Köppen climate classification : BSk ) with low humidity and moderate precipitation, usually from 15 to 25 inches (380 to 640 millimeters) annually, although many areas near

2700-553: Is an integrated system including water intake, water utilization, wastewater discharge and treatment and water environmental protection . It requires reducing freshwater and groundwater usage in all sectors of consumption. Developing sustainable water supply systems is a growing trend, because it serves people's long-term interests. There are several ways to reuse and recycle the water, in order to achieve long-term sustainability, such as: Other possible approaches to scoping models for water supply, applicable to any urban area, include

2835-404: Is called potable water if it meets the water quality standards required for human consumption. The water in the supply network is maintained at positive pressure to ensure that water reaches all parts of the network, that a sufficient flow is available at every take-off point and to ensure that untreated water in the ground cannot enter the network. The water is typically pressurised by pumping

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2970-681: Is collected, together with organic wastes from the households, using a gravity sewer system , continuously flushed with non-potable water. The water is treated anaerobically and the biogas is used for energy production . One effective way to achieve sustainable water management is to shift emphasis towards decentralized water projects, such as drip irrigation diffusion in India. This project covers large spatial areas while relying on individual technological adoption decisions, offering scalable solutions that can mitigate water scarcity and enhance agricultural productivity. Another method that can be utilized

3105-806: Is drained by the Colorado River. The South Park of Colorado is the region of the headwaters of the South Platte River. In south-central Colorado is the large San Luis Valley , where the headwaters of the Rio Grande are located. The northern part of the valley is the San Luis Closed Basin , an endorheic basin that helped created the Great Sand Dunes . The valley sits between the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and San Juan Mountains . The Rio Grande drains due south into New Mexico, Texas, and Mexico. Across

3240-659: Is flat and rolling land. East of the Rocky Mountains is the Colorado Eastern Plains of the High Plains , the section of the Great Plains within Colorado at elevations ranging from roughly 3,350 to 7,500 feet (1,020 to 2,290 m). The Colorado plains are mostly prairies but also include deciduous forests , buttes , and canyons. Precipitation averages 15 to 25 inches (380 to 640 mm) annually. Eastern Colorado

3375-533: Is generally accessed through artesian wells . Heavy usage of these wells for irrigation purposes caused underground water reserves to decline in the region. Eastern Colorado also hosts a considerable amount and range of livestock, such as cattle ranches and hog farms. Roughly 70% of Colorado's population resides along the eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains in the Front Range Urban Corridor between Cheyenne, Wyoming , and Pueblo, Colorado . This region

3510-739: Is higher than the high elevation points of 18 states and the District of Columbia. The Continental Divide of the Americas extends along the crest of the Rocky Mountains. The area of Colorado to the west of the Continental Divide is called the Western Slope of Colorado . West of the Continental Divide, water flows to the southwest via the Colorado River and the Green River towards the Gulf of California . Within

3645-690: Is in recognition of the human right to water and sanitation, which was formally acknowledged at the United Nations General Assembly in 2010, that "clean drinking water and sanitation are essential to the recognition of all human rights". Sustainable water supply includes ensuring availability, accessibility, affordability and quality of water for all individuals. In advanced economies, the problems are about optimising existing supply networks. These economies have usually had continuing evolution, which allowed them to construct infrastructure to supply water to people. The European Union has developed

3780-489: Is increasing, so less water must be wasted and actions must be taken to prevent pipeline leakage. Shutting down the supply service to fix leaks is less and less tolerated by consumers. A sustainable water supply network must monitor the freshwater consumption rate and the waste-water generation rate. Many of the urban water supply networks in developing countries face problems related to population increase , water scarcity , and environmental pollution . In 1900 just 13% of

3915-489: Is insufficient maintenance of the water networks, especially in the major pipe lines in urban areas. The system deteriorates and then needs rehabilitation or renewal. Householders and sewage treatment plants can both make the water supply networks more efficient and sustainable. Major improvements in eco-efficiency are gained through systematic separation of rainfall and wastewater. Membrane technology can be used for recycling wastewater. The municipal government can develop

4050-521: Is known as "The Western Slope") are the cities of Grand Junction , Durango , and Montrose . Download coordinates as: To the west of the Great Plains of Colorado rises the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains . Notable peaks of the Rocky Mountains include Longs Peak , Mount Blue Sky , Pikes Peak , and the Spanish Peaks near Walsenburg , in southern Colorado. This area drains to the east and

4185-459: Is more complex than states outside of the Mountain States region. Unlike most other states, southern Colorado is not always warmer than northern Colorado. Most of Colorado is made up of mountains, foothills, high plains, and desert lands. Mountains and surrounding valleys greatly affect the local climate. Northeast, east, and southeast Colorado are mostly the high plains, while Northern Colorado

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4320-548: Is not well distributed in the world. 1.8 million deaths are attributed to unsafe water supplies every year, according to the WHO . Many people do not have any access, or do not have access to quality and quantity of potable water, though water itself is abundant. Poor people in developing countries can be close to major rivers, or be in high rainfall areas, yet not have access to potable water at all. There are also people living where lack of water creates millions of deaths every year. Where

4455-510: Is partially protected from prevailing storms that blow in from the Pacific Ocean region by the high Rockies in the middle of Colorado. The "Front Range" includes Denver, Boulder , Fort Collins , Loveland, Castle Rock , Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Greeley, and other townships and municipalities in between. On the other side of the Rockies, the significant population centers in western Colorado (which

4590-546: Is presently mainly farmland and rangeland, along with small farming villages and towns. Corn , wheat , hay , soybeans , and oats are all typical crops. Most villages and towns in this region boast both a water tower and a grain elevator . Irrigation water is available from both surface and subterranean sources. Surface water sources include the South Platte , the Arkansas River , and a few other streams. Subterranean water

4725-615: Is the amount of time needed to achieve the transformation. More specifically, transformation must be implemented by municipal legislation bodies, which always need short-term solutions too. Another obstacle to achieving sustainability in water supply systems is the insufficient practical experience with the technologies required, and the missing know-how about the organization and the transition process. Colorado Colorado ( / ˌ k ɒ l ə ˈ r æ d oʊ , - ˈ r ɑː d oʊ / KOL -ə- RAD -oh, -⁠ RAH -doh , other variants; Spanish: [koloˈɾaðo] )

4860-457: Is the highest point in Colorado and the Rocky Mountains of North America. Colorado is the only U.S. state that lies entirely above 1,000 meters elevation. The point where the Arikaree River flows out of Yuma County, Colorado , and into Cheyenne County, Kansas , is the lowest in Colorado at 3,317 feet (1,011 m) elevation. This point, which is the highest low elevation point of any state,

4995-433: Is the location of Stahmann Farms, which operates the world's largest pecan orchard near Las Cruces. Livestock includes cattle , dairy , sheep , angora goats , pigs , chickens , turkeys , and honey bees . Municipal water supply A water supply network or water supply system is a system of engineered hydrologic and hydraulic components that provide water supply . A water supply system typically includes

5130-786: Is through the promoting of community engagement and resistance against unsustainable water infrastructure projects. Grassroots movements, as observed in anti-dam protests in various countries, play a crucial role in challenging dominant development narratives and advocating for more socially and ecologically just water management practices. Municipalities and other forms of local governments should also invest in innovative technologies, such as membrane technology for wastewater recycling, and develop policy frameworks that incentivize eco-efficient practices. Municipal water reuse systems, as demonstrated in implementation, offer promising avenues for integrating wastewater treatment and resource recovery into urban water networks. The sustainable water supply system

5265-557: Is today the State of Colorado has been inhabited by Native Americans and their Paleoamerican ancestors for at least 13,500 years and possibly more than 37,000 years. The eastern edge of the Rocky Mountains was a major migration route that was important to the spread of early peoples throughout the Americas. The Lindenmeier site in Larimer County contains artifacts dating from approximately 8720 BCE. The Ancient Pueblo peoples lived in

5400-432: Is very prone to droughts. Most of the precipitation comes from thunderstorms, which can be severe, and from major snowstorms that occur in the winter and early spring. Otherwise, winters tend to be mostly dry and cold. In much of the region, March is the snowiest month. April and May are normally the rainiest months, while April is the wettest month overall. The Front Range cities closer to the mountains tend to be warmer in

5535-561: The Adams-Onís Treaty of 1819. The treaty took effect on February 22, 1821. Having settled its border with Spain, the U.S. admitted the southeastern portion of the Territory of Missouri to the Union as the state of Missouri on August 10, 1821. The remainder of Missouri Territory, including what would become northeastern Colorado, became an unorganized territory and remained so for 33 years over

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5670-574: The Asiatic Squadron , where it was attacked during the 1871 Korean Expedition . The later three ships were named in honor of the state, including an armored cruiser and the battleship USS Colorado , the latter of which was the lead ship of her class and served in World War II in the Pacific beginning in 1941. At the time of the attack on Pearl Harbor , the battleship USS Colorado was located at

5805-618: The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad arrived in Albuquerque 1880, it bypassed the Plaza, locating the passenger depot and railyards about 2 miles (3 km) east in what quickly became known as "New Albuquerque" or "New Town". A new line, the El Paso Subdivision , was built from New Albuquerque, 230 miles (370 km) south to El Paso, Texas. The northern and southern sections of

5940-526: The European Commission is a good example of what has been created there out of former policies. There is great need for a more sustainable water supply systems. To achieve sustainability several factors must be tackled at the same time: climate change, rising energy cost, and rising populations. All of these factors provoke change and put pressure on management of available water resources. An obstacle to transforming conventional water supply systems,

6075-547: The Great Lakes region to hunt across the High Plains of Colorado and Wyoming . The Spanish Empire claimed Colorado as part of Nuevo México . The U.S. acquired the territorial claim to the eastern Rocky Mountains with the Louisiana Purchase from France in 1803. This U.S. claim conflicted with the claim by Spain to the upper Arkansas River Basin . In 1806, Zebulon Pike led a U.S. Army reconnaissance expedition into

6210-699: The Mesilla Basin where it hosts large tracts of agricultural fields. The river exits the valley south of Las Cruces , the second-largest city in the state, and flows mostly southeast between Texas and Mexico to the Gulf of Mexico . The first and largest modification structure in the valley is Cochiti Dam at the river's confluence with the Santa Fe River . Other major dams are Elephant Butte Dam and Caballo Dam . Diversion structures are, north to south, Angostura , Isleta , San Acacia , Percha , Leasburg , Mesilla , and American Diversion Dams . Additionally

6345-520: The New Mexican Monsoon in the summer. The Spanish noted that Pueblos living along the river would often build on raised land or natural highpoints along the valley floor; rarely, they would abandon settlements if the flooding was too frequent or severe in a particular location. An unnamed Spaniard in 1776 wrote of the floods in the Rio Grande Valley: "This river is in flood from mid-April to

6480-696: The Provisional Government of the Territory of Jefferson on August 24, 1859, but this new territory failed to secure approval from the Congress of the United States embroiled in the debate over slavery. The election of Abraham Lincoln for the President of the United States on November 6, 1860, led to the secession of nine southern slave states and the threat of civil war among the states . Seeking to augment

6615-605: The Rocky Mountains was a major migration route for early peoples who spread throughout the Americas. In 1848, much of the Nuevo México region was annexed to the United States with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo . The Pike's Peak Gold Rush of 1858–1862 created an influx of settlers. On February 28, 1861, U.S. President James Buchanan signed an act creating the Territory of Colorado , and on August 1, 1876, President Ulysses S. Grant signed Proclamation 230 , admitting Colorado to

6750-632: The Sangre de Cristo Range to the east of the San Luis Valley lies the Wet Mountain Valley . These basins, particularly the San Luis Valley, lie along the Rio Grande rift , a major geological formation of the Rocky Mountains, and its branches. The Western Slope of Colorado includes the western face of the Rocky Mountains and all of the area to the western border. This area includes several terrains and climates from alpine mountains to arid deserts. The Western Slope includes many ski resort towns in

6885-699: The Southern Rocky Mountains , as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains . Colorado is the eighth most extensive and 21st most populous U.S. state. The United States Census Bureau estimated the population of Colorado at 5,877,610 as of July 1, 2023, a 1.80% increase since the 2020 United States census. The region has been inhabited by Native Americans and their ancestors for at least 13,500 years and possibly much longer. The eastern edge of

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7020-545: The Territory of New Mexico , and the Territory of Utah . On April 9, 1851, Hispano settlers from the area of Taos settled the village of San Luis , then in the New Mexico Territory , as Colorado's first permanent Euro-American settlement , further cementing the traditions of New Mexican cuisine and New Mexico music in the developing Southern Rocky Mountain Front . In 1854, Senator Stephen A. Douglas persuaded

7155-574: The U.S. Congress to divide the unorganized territory east of the Continental Divide into two new organized territories, the Territory of Kansas and the Territory of Nebraska , and an unorganized southern region known as the Indian Territory . Each new territory was to decide the fate of slavery within its boundaries, but this compromise merely served to fuel animosity between free soil and pro-slavery factions. The gold seekers organized

7290-542: The Union as the 38th state. The Spanish adjective "colorado" means "colored red" or "ruddy". Colorado is nicknamed the " Centennial State " because it became a state 100 years (and four weeks) after the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence . Denver is the capital, the most populous city , and the center of the Front Range Urban Corridor . Colorado Springs is the second most populous city of

7425-502: The Union cause. In 1862, a force of Texas cavalry invaded the Territory of New Mexico and captured Santa Fe on March 10. The object of this Western Campaign was to seize or disrupt Colorado and California's gold fields and seize Pacific Ocean ports for the Confederacy. A hastily organized force of Colorado volunteers force-marched from Denver City, Colorado Territory , to Glorieta Pass , New Mexico Territory, in an attempt to block

7560-597: The Ute Indian reservation in southwestern Colorado. The Ute people were removed from the San Juan Mountains the following year. The United States Congress passed an enabling act on March 3, 1875, specifying the requirements for the Territory of Colorado to become a state. On August 1, 1876 (four weeks after the Centennial of the United States ), U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant signed a proclamation admitting Colorado to

7695-470: The free Territory of Colorado . The original boundaries of Colorado remain unchanged except for government survey amendments. In 1776, Spanish priest Silvestre Vélez de Escalante recorded that Native Americans in the area knew the river as el Rio Colorado for the red-brown silt that the river carried from the mountains. In 1859, a U.S. Army topographic expedition led by Captain John Macomb located

7830-526: The question of slavery . After 11 years of war, Spain finally recognized the independence of Mexico with the Treaty of Córdoba signed on August 24, 1821. Mexico eventually ratified the Adams–Onís Treaty in 1831. The Texian Revolt of 1835–36 fomented a dispute between the U.S. and Mexico which eventually erupted into the Mexican–American War in 1846. Mexico surrendered its northern territory to

7965-427: The 1913–1914 Coalfield War and the Denver streetcar strike of 1920 resulted in federal troops intervening to end the violence. In 1927, the 1927-28 Colorado coal strike occurred and was ultimately successful in winning a dollar a day increase in wages. During it however the Columbine Mine massacre resulted in six dead strikers following a confrontation with Colorado Rangers . In a separate incident in Trinidad

8100-404: The 1930s, but a major wave of immigration following World War II boosted Colorado's fortune. Tourism became a mainstay of the state economy, and high technology became an important economic engine. The United States Census Bureau estimated that the population of Colorado exceeded five million in 2009. On September 11, 1957, a plutonium fire occurred at the Rocky Flats Plant , which resulted in

8235-406: The Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority (ABCWUA) operates an adjustable height dam to supply the city with drinking water. The valley hosts the Pueblo communities of Cochiti , Kewa , San Felipe , Sandia , and Isleta . Other population centers include Albuquerque, Socorro, T or C, Hatch, and Las Cruces. The entire Rio Grande Valley in New Mexico follows the Rio Grande Rift ,

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8370-399: The Green River briefly crosses over into Colorado. The Western Slope of Colorado is drained by the Colorado River and its tributaries (primarily the Gunnison River , Green River , and the San Juan River ). The Colorado River flows through Glenwood Canyon , and then through an arid valley made up of desert from Rifle to Parachute , through the desert canyon of De Beque Canyon , and into

8505-477: The Mesilla basin by 3.1 million years, to Texas by 2.06 million years. Although the Rio Grande flows primarily through desert and arid lands, the valley floor nearest the river supports a rich bosque habitat, featuring large cottonwood gallery forests . The bosque has been cleared in areas for agricultural fields. The fields themselves provide a habitat for migratory birds. The Rio Grande Valley has been inhabited for millennia. The Folsom tradition first reached

8640-404: The Rio Grande Valley between 13,000 and 12,000 years ago near present-day Albuquerque . Following herds of bison across the West Mesa , they would frequent the valley for water, game, and wild plants. Artifacts left behind by the Folsom culture include flakes of stone cherts from the Chuska Mountains , the Zuni Mountains , and the Rio Puerco Escarpment , suggesting they were moving east toward

8775-406: The Rio Grande, collecting high-quality stones along the way, and stopping to camp and kill game upon the mesa, before continuing west and south across the Americas . The Ancestral Puebloans inhabited the valley year-around starting sometime before 1300 CE , after abandoning their settlements near the Four Corners region, probably due to drought, in the late Pueblo III Period . They established

8910-514: The Rio Grande. The valley is famous for growing chile peppers ; the village of Hatch bills itself as "The Chile Capital of the World". The mix of desert minerals with clays and other alluvium carried south by the floods have created a unique terroir , resulting in peppers with unique flavors and uniform heat levels . It includes acreage for New Mexico's state vegetable , the New Mexico chile . Other important crops include pecans , frijoles ( pinto beans ), peanuts , onions , and cotton. It

9045-409: The Rocky Mountains and towns west to Utah. It is less populous than the Front Range but includes a large number of national parks and monuments. The northwestern corner of Colorado is a sparsely populated region, and it contains part of the noted Dinosaur National Monument , which not only is a paleontological area, but is also a scenic area of rocky hills, canyons, arid desert, and streambeds. Here,

9180-527: The Southwestern United States. In 1864, Territorial Governor John Evans appointed the Reverend John Chivington as Colonel of the Colorado Volunteers with orders to protect white settlers from Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors who were accused of stealing cattle. Colonel Chivington ordered his troops to attack a band of Cheyenne and Arapaho encamped along Sand Creek. Chivington reported that his troops killed more than 500 warriors. The militia returned to Denver City in triumph, but several officers reported that

9315-421: The Territory. The Union Pacific linked up with the Central Pacific Railroad at Promontory Summit, Utah , on May 10, 1869, to form the First transcontinental railroad . The Denver Pacific Railway reached Denver in June of the following year, and the Kansas Pacific arrived two months later to forge the second line across the continent. In 1872, rich veins of silver were discovered in the San Juan Mountains on

9450-466: The Texans. On March 28, the Coloradans and local New Mexico volunteers stopped the Texans at the Battle of Glorieta Pass , destroyed their cannon and supply wagons, and dispersed 500 of their horses and mules. The Texans were forced to retreat to Santa Fe. Having lost the supplies for their campaign and finding little support in New Mexico, the Texans abandoned Santa Fe and returned to San Antonio in defeat. The Confederacy made no further attempts to seize

9585-408: The U.S. with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo after the war in 1848; this included much of the western and southern areas of Colorado. Most American settlers first traveled to Colorado through the Santa Fe Trail , which connected the U.S. to Santa Fe and the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro southward. Others were traveling overland west to the Oregon Country , the new goldfields of California , or

9720-461: The Union as the 38th state and earning it the moniker "Centennial State". The discovery of a major silver lode near Leadville in 1878 triggered the Colorado Silver Boom . The Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890 invigorated silver mining, and Colorado's last, but greatest, gold strike at Cripple Creek a few months later lured a new generation of gold seekers. Colorado women were granted

9855-765: The Western Slope can be found at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, Western Colorado University in Gunnison, Fort Lewis College in Durango, and Colorado Mountain College in Glenwood Springs and Steamboat Springs. The Four Corners Monument in the southwest corner of Colorado marks the common boundary of Colorado, New Mexico , Arizona , and Utah ; the only such place in the United States. The climate of Colorado

9990-502: The Western Slope. Grand Junction and Durango are the only major centers of television broadcasting west of the Continental Divide in Colorado, though most mountain resort communities publish daily newspapers. Grand Junction is located at the juncture of Interstate 70 and US 50, the only major highways in western Colorado. Grand Junction is also along the major railroad of the Western Slope, the Union Pacific . This railroad also provides

10125-503: The adoption of appropriate technology coupled with effective strategies for operation and maintenance. These strategies must include effective management models, technical support to the householders and industries, sustainable financing mechanisms, and development of reliable supply chains . All these measures must ensure the following: system working lifespan; maintenance cycle; continuity of functioning; down time for repairs; water yield and water quality. In an unsustainable system there

10260-612: The alpine snow melts by mid-August except for a few snow-capped peaks and a few small glaciers. The Colorado Mineral Belt , stretching from the San Juan Mountains in the southwest to Boulder and Central City on the front range, contains most of the historic gold- and silver-mining districts of Colorado. The 30 highest major summits of the Rocky Mountains of North America are all within the state. The summit of Mount Elbert at 14,437.6 feet (4,400.58 m) elevation in Lake County

10395-455: The arid desert of Grand Valley , where the city of Grand Junction is located. Also prominent is the Grand Mesa , which lies to the southeast of Grand Junction; the high San Juan Mountains, a rugged mountain range; and to the north and west of the San Juan Mountains, the Colorado Plateau . Grand Junction, Colorado , at the confluence of the Colorado and Gunnison Rivers, is the largest city on

10530-480: The best combination. Returning to the cost objective function, it cannot violate any of the operational constraints. Generally this cost is dominated by the energy cost for pumping. “The operational constraints include the standards of customer service , such as: the minimum delivered pressure, in addition to the physical constraints such as the maximum and the minimum water levels in storage tanks to prevent overtopping and emptying respectively.” In order to optimize

10665-493: The boundaries of the new Territory of Colorado exclusively by lines of latitude and longitude , stretching from 37°N to 41°N latitude, and from 102°02′48″W to 109°02′48″W longitude ( 25°W to 32°W from the Washington Meridian ). After 163 years of government surveys, the borders of Colorado were officially defined by 697 boundary markers and 697 straight boundary lines . Colorado, Wyoming , and Utah are

10800-446: The chances of the water becoming contaminated after treatment. Traditional surface water treatment plants generally consists of three steps: clarification, filtration and disinfection. Clarification refers to the separation of particles (dirt, organic matter, etc.) from the water stream. Chemical addition (i.e. alum, ferric chloride) destabilizes the particle charges and prepares them for clarification either by settling or floating out of

10935-625: The confluence of the Green River with the Grand River in what is now Canyonlands National Park in Utah . The Macomb party designated the confluence as the source of the Colorado River. On April 12, 1861, South Carolina artillery opened fire on Fort Sumter to start the American Civil War . While many gold seekers held sympathies for the Confederacy , the vast majority remained fiercely loyal to

11070-452: The costs and benefits resulting in a set of solutions that can be used for sensitivity analysis and tested in different scenarios. But there is no single optimal solution that will satisfy the global optimality of both objectives. As both objectives are to some extent contradictory, it is not possible to improve one objective without sacrificing the other. It is necessary in some cases use a different approach. (e.g. Pareto Analysis ), and choose

11205-466: The disputed region. Colonel Pike and his troops were arrested by Spanish cavalrymen in the San Luis Valley the following February, taken to Chihuahua , and expelled from Mexico the following July. The U.S. relinquished its claim to all land south and west of the Arkansas River and south of 42nd parallel north and west of the 100th meridian west as part of its purchase of Florida from Spain with

11340-451: The distribution system, the water quality can degrade by chemical reactions and biological processes. Corrosion of metal pipe materials in the distribution system can cause the release of metals into the water with undesirable aesthetic and health effects. Release of iron from unlined iron pipes can result in customer reports of "red water" at the tap. Release of copper from copper pipes can result in customer reports of "blue water" and/or

11475-558: The early 21st century, substantial progress has been made in dating and distinguishing their dwellings and other forms of material culture. In the autumn of 1540, a military expedition of the Viceroyalty of New Spain led by Francisco Vásquez de Coronado , Governor of Nueva Galicia , reached the Tiwa pueblos in the valley around the future site of the Albuquerque Metro . When they entered

11610-491: The end of June. The force of the freshets depends upon whether the winter snows have been heavy or light, but they never fail, for it always snows more or less. In a very rainy year, the flood sea-son lasts a long time, and the longer it lasts, the greater the damage it does, whether to people or cattle who are drowned, or to farmlands that are swept away, or even to nearby houses that are carried off." The largest flood occurred in 1828 and exceeded 100,000 cfs. Records indicate that

11745-526: The entire Great Basin and all lands drained by the rivers Green , Grand , and Colorado . The federal government of the U.S. flatly refused to recognize the new Mormon government because it was theocratic and sanctioned plural marriage . Instead, the Compromise of 1850 divided the Mexican Cession and the northwestern claims of Texas into a new state and two new territories, the state of California ,

11880-428: The entire valley was flooded from Albuquerque to El Paso, which caused the river to shift to new channels in several locations. Several settlements in the Albuquerque area were moved due to flooding, such as Alameda and "Upper Bernalillo". Near Albuquerque, the river would alternate during floods between a channel near present-day 2nd and 4th Streets NW east of town, and the present-day channel west of town; this ended when

12015-564: The following: The Dublin Statement on Water and Sustainable Development is a good example of the new trend to overcome water supply problems. This statement, suggested by advanced economies, has come up with some principles that are of great significance to urban water supply. These are: From these statements, developed in 1992, several policies have been created to give importance to water and to move urban water system management towards sustainable development. The Water Framework Directive by

12150-538: The following: Water supply networks are often run by public utilities of the water industry . Raw water (untreated) is from a surface water source (such as an intake on a lake or a river ) or from a groundwater source (such as a water well drawing from an underground aquifer ) within the watershed that provides the water resource . The raw water is transferred to the water purification facilities using uncovered aqueducts, covered tunnels or underground water pipes . Virtually all large systems must treat

12285-607: The global population lived in cities. By 2005, 49% of the global population lived in urban areas. In 2030 it is predicted that this statistic will rise to 60%. Attempts to expand water supply by governments are costly and often not sufficient. The building of new illegal settlements makes it hard to map, and make connections to, the water supply, and leads to inadequate water management. In 2002, there were 158 million people with inadequate water supply . An increasing number of people live in slums , in inadequate sanitary conditions, and are therefore at risk of disease . Potable water

12420-479: The infamous Columbine High School massacre in 1999 which made international news, where two gunmen killed 12 students and one teacher, before committing suicide. The incident has spawned many copycat incidents . On July 20, 2012, a gunman killed 12 people in a movie theater in Aurora . The state responded with tighter restrictions on firearms, including introducing a limit on magazine capacity. On March 22, 2021,

12555-567: The interior of the Rocky Mountains are several large parks which are high broad basins. In the north, on the east side of the Continental Divide is the North Park of Colorado . The North Park is drained by the North Platte River , which flows north into Wyoming and Nebraska. Just to the south of North Park, but on the western side of the Continental Divide, is the Middle Park of Colorado , which

12690-617: The local and state Democrat and Republican parties , particularly in the governor's office and city governments of Denver, Cañon City , and Durango . A particularly strong element of the Klan controlled the Denver Police . Cross burnings became semi-regular occurrences in cities such as Florence and Pueblo. The Klan targeted African-Americans, Catholics , Eastern European immigrants, and other non-White Protestant groups. Efforts by non-Klan lawmen and lawyers including Philip Van Cise led to

12825-603: The majority of assets of a water utility. Systematic documentation of maintenance works using a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) is a key to a successful operation of a water utility. A sustainable urban water supply network covers all the activities related to provision of potable water. Sustainable development is of increasing importance for the water supply to urban areas. Incorporating innovative water technologies into water supply systems improves water supply from sustainable perspectives. The development of innovative water technologies provides flexibility to

12960-673: The mayor was accused of deputizing members of the KKK against the striking workers. More than 5,000 Colorado miners—many immigrants—are estimated to have died in accidents since records were first formally collected following an 1884 accident in Crested Butte that killed 59. In 1924, the Ku Klux Klan Colorado Realm achieved dominance in Colorado politics. With peak membership levels, the Second Klan levied significant control over both

13095-542: The midst and aftermath of the Civil War, many discouraged prospectors returned to their homes, but a few stayed and developed mines, mills, farms, ranches, roads, and towns in Colorado Territory. On September 14, 1864, James Huff discovered silver near Argentine Pass , the first of many silver strikes. In 1867, the Union Pacific Railroad laid its tracks west to Weir, now Julesburg , in the northeast corner of

13230-516: The naval base in San Diego, California, and thus went unscathed. The most recent vessel to bear the name USS Colorado is Virginia-class submarine USS Colorado (SSN-788) , which was commissioned in 2018. Colorado is notable for its diverse geography, which includes alpine mountains, high plains, deserts with huge sand dunes, and deep canyons. In 1861, the United States Congress defined

13365-541: The network. Most systems are divided into zones. Factors determining the extent or size of a zone can include hydraulics, telemetry systems, history, and population density. Sometimes systems are designed for a specific area then are modified to accommodate development. Terrain affects hydraulics and some forms of telemetry. While each zone may operate as a stand-alone system, there is usually some arrangement to interconnect zones in order to manage equipment failures or system failures. Water supply networks usually represent

13500-788: The new Mormon settlements of the State of Deseret in the Salt Lake Valley , avoided the rugged Southern Rocky Mountains , and instead followed the North Platte River and Sweetwater River to South Pass (Wyoming) , the lowest crossing of the Continental Divide between the Southern Rocky Mountains and the Central Rocky Mountains. In 1849, the Mormons of the Salt Lake Valley organized the extralegal State of Deseret , claiming

13635-473: The only states that have their borders defined solely by straight boundary lines with no natural features. The southwest corner of Colorado is the Four Corners Monument at 36°59′56″N , 109°2′43″W . The Four Corners Monument , located at the place where Colorado, New Mexico , Arizona , and Utah meet, is the only place in the United States where four states meet. Approximately half of Colorado

13770-401: The operational performance of the water supply network, at the same time as minimizing the energy costs, it is necessary to predict the consequences of different pump and valve settings on the behavior of the network. Apart from Linear and Non-linear Programming, there are other methods and approaches to design, to manage and operate a water supply network to achieve sustainability—for instance,

13905-411: The optimal solution for all the original objectives. The second approach (the constraint method), chooses one of the objective functions as the single objective, and the other objective functions are treated as constraints with a limited value. However, the optimal solution depends on the pre-defined constraint limits. The multiple objective optimization problems involve computing the tradeoff between

14040-620: The plains and into the foothills, there is a wide variety of climate types. Locations merely a few miles apart can experience entirely different weather depending on the topography. Most valleys have a semi-arid climate, not unlike the eastern plains, which transitions to an alpine climate at the highest elevations. Microclimates also exist in local areas that run nearly the entire spectrum of climates, including subtropical highland ( Cfb/Cwb ), humid subtropical ( Cfa ), humid continental ( Dfa/Dfb ), Mediterranean ( Csa/Csb ) and subarctic ( Dfc ). Extreme weather changes are common in Colorado, although

14175-561: The political power of the Union states , the Republican Party -dominated Congress quickly admitted the eastern portion of the Territory of Kansas into the Union as the free State of Kansas on January 29, 1861, leaving the western portion of the Kansas Territory, and its gold-mining areas, as unorganized territory. Thirty days later on February 28, 1861, outgoing U.S. President James Buchanan signed an Act of Congress organizing

14310-444: The population of Colorado resides, lies in a pronounced precipitation shadow as a result of being on the lee side of the Rocky Mountains. In summer, this area can have many days above 95 °F (35 °C) and often 100 °F (38 °C). On the plains, the winter lows usually range from 25 to −10 °F (−4 to −23 °C). About 75% of the precipitation falls within the growing season, from April to September, but this area

14445-467: The problem into a single objective optimization problem, by using adjustments, such as a weighted sum of objectives , or an ε-constraint method. The weighted sum approach gives a certain weight to the different objectives, and then factors in all these weights to form a single objective function that can be solved by single factor optimization. This method is not entirely satisfactory, because the weights cannot be correctly chosen, so this approach cannot find

14580-483: The right to vote on November 7, 1893, making Colorado the second state to grant universal suffrage and the first one by a popular vote (of Colorado men). The repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act in 1893 led to a staggering collapse of the mining and agricultural economy of Colorado, but the state slowly and steadily recovered. Between the 1880s and 1930s, Denver's floriculture industry developed into

14715-527: The river exits the Española Basin west of Santa Fe , and forms a shallow valley along the floor of the Santo Domingo Basin , where it hosts mainly Puebloan agriculture. The valley runs through Albuquerque Basin , the location of Albuquerque , New Mexico's largest city , between the aptly named East and West Mesas . It is also the location of Rio Grande Valley State Park . The valley narrows to

14850-476: The river supports very little agriculture. Ojos (hot springs) are located along the valley floor, and many spas offer natural mineral soaks in T or C. South of Caballo, the valley supports highly fertile lands of the Hatch region where most of the domestically produced chile peppers in the United States are grown. This part of the valley is known as the "Hatch Valley". The valley becomes constrained again before entering

14985-592: The river was channelized in the city in the 1950s. The construction of Elephant Butte Dam and Cochiti Dam in the 20th century virtually ended the era of unpredictable and destructive flooding in the middle Rio Grande Valley. This has led to issues in the valley such as falling water tables, decreased fertility due to reduction in silt deposition, decrease in cottonwood saplings due to competitive vegetation surviving flood season, and endangerment of certain aquatic species due to decreased intensity of spring flood pulses, which typically cues spawning in such species. When

15120-405: The rivers are semi-humid climate. The area is known for its abundant sunshine and cool, clear nights, which give this area a great average diurnal temperature range . The difference between the highs of the days and the lows of the nights can be considerable as warmth dissipates to space during clear nights, the heat radiation not being trapped by clouds. The Front Range urban corridor, where most of

15255-496: The road left the valley and traversed the Jornada del Muerto Desert . The road then rejoined the valley at Socorro and followed along the floor of the valley to near Kewa Pueblo , where it again left the valley on the final leg to Santa Fe, New Mexico . La Villa de Alburquerque was founded by Nuevo México governor Francisco Cuervo y Valdés in 1706. It was built in the style of a typical Spanish villa , with buildings surrounding

15390-618: The route traverses the Rio Grande Valley, while the central section bypasses the valley and crosses the Jornada del Muerto Desert, very roughly parallel to the Camino Real. The line is still active as of 2021, but is only moderately used. The entire line from Belen to El Paso is unsignalized dark territory . In the 1926, U.S. 66 was constructed through the New Mexico. The highway entered

15525-471: The significant plutonium contamination of surrounding populated areas. From the 1940s and 1970s, many protest movements gained momentum in Colorado, predominantly in Denver. This included the Chicano Movement , a civil rights , and social movement of Mexican Americans emphasizing a Chicano identity that is widely considered to have begun in Denver. The National Chicano Youth Liberation Conference

15660-477: The so-called battle was a blatant massacre of Indians at peace, that most of the dead were women and children, and that the bodies of the dead had been hideously mutilated and desecrated. Three U.S. Army inquiries condemned the action, and incoming President Andrew Johnson asked Governor Evans for his resignation, but none of the perpetrators was ever punished. This event is now known as the Sand Creek massacre . In

15795-575: The south of this basin before entering the Socorro Basin near Sevilleta National Wildlife Refuge . The valley (and river) trend mostly north–south to -southwest, supporting agriculture in a thin green ribbon across the Chihuahuan Desert . It enters Elephant Butte Reservoir , the largest water body in New Mexico, between Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge and the city of Truth or Consequences . Between Elephant Butte and Caballo Reservoir ,

15930-643: The southeast, ultimately either via the Mississippi River or the Rio Grande into the Gulf of Mexico . The Rocky Mountains within Colorado contain 53 true peaks and 58 named peaks that are 14,000 feet (4,267 m) or higher in elevation above sea level, known as fourteeners . These mountains are largely covered with trees such as conifers and aspens up to the tree line , at an elevation of about 12,000 feet (3,658 m) in southern Colorado to about 10,500 feet (3,200 m) in northern Colorado. Above this tree line, only alpine vegetation grows. Much of

16065-456: The state. Residents of the state are known as Coloradans , although the antiquated "Coloradoan" is occasionally used. Major parts of the economy include government and defense, mining, agriculture , tourism, and increasingly other kinds of manufacturing. With increasing temperatures and decreasing water availability, Colorado's agriculture forestry, and tourism economies are expected to be heavily affected by climate change . The region that

16200-483: The steel industry, and for several operations in food processing facilities. It is necessary to adopt a new approach to design urban water supply networks; water shortages are expected in the forthcoming decades and environmental regulations for water utilization and waste-water disposal are increasingly stringent. To achieve a sustainable water supply network, new sources of water are needed to be developed, and to reduce environmental pollution. The price of water

16335-495: The tracks for Amtrak 's California Zephyr passenger train, which crosses the Rocky Mountains between Denver and Grand Junction. The Western Slope includes multiple notable destinations in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, including Glenwood Springs , with its resort hot springs, and the ski resorts of Aspen , Breckenridge , Vail , Crested Butte , Steamboat Springs , and Telluride . Higher education in and near

16470-517: The treatment plant. Booster stations can be placed within the distribution system to ensure that all areas of the distribution system have adequate sustained levels of disinfection . Like electric power lines, roads, and microwave radio networks, water systems may have a loop or branch network topology, or a combination of both. The piping networks are circular or rectangular. If any one section of water distribution main fails or needs repair, that section can be isolated without disrupting all users on

16605-560: The valley at Kewa Pueblo . It then continued south through the valley through the Albuquerque area to Los Lunas , where the highway left the valley to continue west to California. U.S. 66 was rerouted on a more east–west path to cross the valley at Albuquerque in 1937. U.S. Route 85 , part of the Pan-American Highway , was constructed along the length of the valley from El Paso, Texas to then-US 66 (now NM 6 ) in Los Lunas. It

16740-538: The valley to establish irrigated fields , they encountered fields already in place by the Pueblos, complete with diversions and canals "as if built by Spaniards". El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (English: The Royal Road of Interior Land) was established in 1600 to connect Mexico City with the capital of the kingdom of Santa Fe de Nuevo México . The road first entered the valley at El Paso del Norte (present day Ciudad Juárez, Chihuahua). North of Las Cruces, New Mexico ,

16875-681: The valleys and mesas of the Colorado Plateau in far southwestern Colorado. The Ute Nation inhabited the mountain valleys of the Southern Rocky Mountains and the Western Rocky Mountains , even as far east as the Front Range of the present day. The Apache and the Comanche also inhabited the Eastern and Southeastern parts of the state. In the 17th century, the Arapaho and Cheyenne moved west from

17010-643: The various pueblos in the valley that are still inhabited today. The Apache peoples entered the valley sometime between 1200 and 1500 CE; the Apaches' nomadic way of life complicates accurate dating, primarily because they constructed less substantial dwellings than other Southwestern groups. They were a primarily nomadic culture who would hunt and gather wild plants. They traded with the Pueblos their bison meat, hides, and stone tool materials for Puebloan maize and woven cotton goods. They would also raid Pueblo, and later Spanish, Mexican, and American, settlements. Since

17145-404: The water into storage tanks constructed at the highest local point in the network. One network may have several such service reservoirs . In small domestic systems, the water may be pressurised by a pressure vessel or even by an underground cistern (the latter however does need additional pressurizing). This eliminates the need of a water tower or any other heightened water reserve to supply

17280-632: The water pressure. These systems are usually owned and maintained by local governments such as cities or other public entities, but are occasionally operated by a commercial enterprise (see water privatization ). Water supply networks are part of the master planning of communities, counties, and municipalities. Their planning and design requires the expertise of city planners and civil engineers , who must consider many factors, such as location, current demand, future growth, leakage, pressure, pipe size, pressure loss, fire fighting flows, etc.—using pipe network analysis and other tools. As water passes through

17415-402: The water stream. Sand, anthracite or activated carbon filters refine the water stream, removing smaller particulate matter. While other methods of disinfection exist, the preferred method is via chlorine addition. Chlorine effectively kills bacteria and most viruses and maintains a residual to protect the water supply through the supply network. The product, delivered to the point of consumption,

17550-866: The water supply system cannot reach the slums, people manage to use hand pumps , to reach the pit wells, rivers , canals , swamps and any other source of water. In most cases the water quality is unfit for human consumption. The principal cause of water scarcity is the growth in demand. Water is taken from remote areas to satisfy the needs of urban areas. Another reason for water scarcity is climate change : precipitation patterns have changed; rivers have decreased their flow; lakes are drying up; and aquifers are being emptied. In developing countries many governments are corrupt and poor and they respond to these problems with frequently changing policies and non clear agreements. Water demand exceeds supply, and household and industrial water supplies are prioritised over other uses, which leads to water stress . Potable water has

17685-408: The water supply system, generating a fundamental and effective means of sustainability based on an integrated real options approach. Water is an essential natural resource for human existence. It is needed in every industrial and natural process, for example, it is used for oil refining , for liquid-liquid extraction in hydro-metallurgical processes, for cooling, for scrubbing in the iron and

17820-554: The water; a fact that is tightly regulated by global, state and federal agencies, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) or the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Water treatment must occur before the product reaches the consumer and afterwards (when it is discharged again). Water purification usually occurs close to the final delivery points to reduce pumping costs and

17955-467: The winter due to Chinook winds which warms the area, sometimes bringing temperatures of 70 °F (21 °C) or higher in the winter. The average July temperature is 55 °F (13 °C) in the morning and 90 °F (32 °C) in the afternoon. The average January temperature is 18 °F (−8 °C) in the morning and 48 °F (9 °C) in the afternoon, although variation between consecutive days can be 40 °F (22 °C). Just west of

18090-486: Was held in Colorado in March 1969. In 1967, Colorado was the first state to loosen restrictions on abortion when governor John Love signed a law allowing abortions in cases of rape, incest, or threats to the woman's mental or physical health. Many states followed Colorado's lead in loosening abortion laws in the 1960s and 1970s. Since the late 1990s, Colorado has been the site of multiple major mass shootings , including

18225-604: Was shown as "U.S. Route 466" in an early 1925 plan for the United States Numbered Highway System . The number "466" was later used along another routing . Repeated floods in the middle Rio Grande Valley have created some of the most fertile agricultural lands in the Southwest . The Puebloans were the first to grow crops in the valley, growing maize, squash , and beans . The Spanish later expanded irrigation to almost every arable acre of floodland along

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