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<br />0'1173'- <br />J ,L. .J <br /> <br />of the San Juan River Above the Animas River Confluence, calculated as the San Juan River at <br />Farmington minus the Animas River at Farmington. The flow is constant at about 270 cfs. The <br />calculated flow above the Animas River confluence compares the same type of flow data as the <br />Archuleta chart, but demonstrates that the mean daily flows were not constant, but ranged from <br />386 to 99 cfs during the Test period. How this runoff influenced impacts to diverters is the <br />question. <br /> <br />The largest drainage area in this section of the river is Canyon Largo, and it enters the river <br />below the Hammond Diversion, Since all the canal diversions are above Canyon Largo, it is <br />unlikely that thunderstorm runoff would have had a large factor in providing a divertible water <br />supply. So, in spite of the rainfall events, results of the Low Flow Test indicate that dam releases <br />of 250 cfs will provide sufficient water in the river to meet water rights in the San Juan River <br />between Navajo Dam and the confluence with the Animas River. Though shortages were <br />encountered at three locations during the Test, these were the result of inadequate diversion <br />facilities, not insufficient water supply. The lowest river flow measured approached 60 cfs <br />below the Hammond Diversion Dam. The remainder of the river is a gaining reach from <br />irrigation return flow and canal waste. River flow above the Animas River confluence was <br />measured at 218 cfs, probably containing a large portion of thunderstorm runoff. <br /> <br />.METHOD <br /> <br />One way to ass~ss the reliability offield measurements and to check our understanding of how <br />this section of river operates was a mass balance analysis. The stretch of the San Juan River at <br />Archuleta to the Animas River confluence was divided into six reaches for mass balance <br />analysis. Figure 4 shows the total measured flow at each of these reaches. Diversions from <br />canals to irrigated fields, irrigation depletions and return flows were calculated by river reach <br />using New Mexico's 2000 acreage information and average July 1929-1993 consumptive use <br />rates as calculated for the San Juan River Basin Hydrology Model. <br /> <br />Table 3 summarizes monthly information extracted from the San Juan River Basin Hydrology <br />Model to calculate irrigation diversions, depletions and return flows rates on a per acre basis. <br />Monthly volumes are divided by modeled acres to determine the average and maximum July <br />rates by acre-feet/acre/day. This report uses the average July rates to calculated diversions, <br />depletions and return flows from irritation, The maximum July rate was included as a <br />comparison. Table 4 displays irrigation diversions, depletions and return flows for each <br />irrigation company by river reach, using consumptive use rates calculated for the area, Irrigation <br />efficiencies for Hammond District was increased from the SJRB Model value of 30% to 60% to <br />reflect recent concrete canal lining and to account for district reported canal wastes. <br /> <br />Mass balance analysis was performed on the Citizen Ditch and Hammond Canal to estimate <br />unmeasured losses (spills and seepage) that occur in each canal reach and are assumed to return <br />to the river by the following equation: Canal Loss =Canal Flow(in)-Canal Flow(out)-estimated <br />farm diversions- wasteways, Table 5 shows calculations that determines unmeasured canal <br />losses by river reach, The procedure was to find the flow reduction between two canal <br />measurements, accounting for the canal diversions measured in Table 2 or calculated in Table 5, <br /> <br />2 <br />