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., .. . Ii . . If! . " . . I! . II . . I! .- II ~ ... ,"<, '1' (," 0' ~1. 1. Gauging Stations Required in the Transferred Model Decree The Project water supply plan required the transfer of an existing 20,000 acre- feet storage right from Model Reservoir to the Trinidad Reservoir site. Following a petition by the Purgatoire River Water Conservancy District and Model Land and Irrigation Company, a decree (Civil Action 19793) was entered by the District Court in Las Animas County, Colorado in April 1965, allowing for the transfer. The court decree provides for protection of 'vested rights, requiring that storage in Trinidad Reservoir be regulated in a manner to avoid changing certain down stream flow conditions. In order to properly monitor and record the flow of water in the Purgatoire River below the project area, the decree established the need for not less than three gauging stations. The location of these stations was to approximate the following: a. At a point on the Purgatoire or Las Animas River located immediately below Van Bremer Arroyo; b. At a point located on Leitensdorfer Arroyo {which would control substantially all of the inflow from said arroyo to the Las Animas or Purgatoire River; c. At a point on the Las Animas or Purgatoire River, in the canyon thereof, and located near the Colorado Interstate Gas Company pumping station. These stations were to be installed under the supervision and approval of the Colorado State Engineer. During review of the Bureau's December 1985 draft Operating Principles Review Report, the State of Kansas Division of Water Resources raised questions con- cerning the Colorado State Engineer's installation and administration of the above gaugi ng stat ions. Kansas poi nted out that the stat i on to be located on Leitensdorfer Arroyo has not been installed and asked about the effect, if any, its omission has on administration of the decree. During our investigation of this issue, Mr. M. E. MacDougall, attorney for the Purgatoire River Water Conservancy District, provided historical background and reference material surrounding the decision of establishing existing stations to accomplish the purpose of the court decree. According to the reference material, meetings and consultations were held between State Engineer Ralph Owens of Colorado, R. M. Gildersleeve of the Colorado Water Conservation Board, Leo Gamble of the Pueblo Office of the Bureau of Reclamation, and J. W. Odell of the U.S. Geological Survey as to the proper location of gauging stations to accomplish the regula- tion required by the Decree. It was decided at this meeting by all involved parties that the gauging station referred to in c. above is below the point of return of the ditches in the i nvo 1 ved area and clear ly necessary for the State Engi neer to perform his duties. It was indicated that location a. above appears to be in duplicate of location c. unless the purpose for which the gauging stations were to be installed is considered. In this case, it was felt that a. should have referred to a location on Van Bremer Arroyo above the Purgatoire River. This station, together with a station on Luning Arroyo, next upstream from Van Bremer Arroyo, would provide the ne~ded return flow measurement. 53