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I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I f!:Qject Introduction The purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of a secondary water supply system for the City of Lamar. A secondary supply system is a pressurized, untreated water delivery system, which is used to supply raw water for landscape irrigation purposes. This report considers the feasibility of a secondary supply system for the City from an economic, social, and a physical design perspective. Currently, the City of Lamar provides potable water to customers for both their domestic and landscape irrigation uses. In an effort to better understand the potential for using raw water for landscape irrigation, the City of Lamar has funded this study with cost sharing assistance from Colorado Water Conservation Board. The City owns an interest in several irrigation canals and holds groundwater well decrees, both of which are potential water sources for secondary supply. Description of Study Area Location The City of Lamar is located in southeastern Colorado within the Arkansas River Basin. Generally characterized, the region is arid, receiving less than 12 inches of annual precipitation. Temperatures in the middle of the summer often exceed 100oF. The Arkansas River provides valuable irrigation water for the region, which is a significant agricultural producer in the State. Several irrigation canals run through or near to the City of Lamar, as much of the land surrounding the City is agricultural. County and Municipal Socio-Economic Characteristics The City of Lamar is located in Prowers County, Colorado. The Prowers County population was estimated at 14,483 in 2000, approximately 33 percent being Hispanic. By comparison, the population of Prowers County in 1960 was 13,296.1 The county has two interstate transportation arteries passing through it. These arteries carry upwards of 2000 trucks a day. Table 1 shows the importance of production, transportation and material receiving employment in the county presently. Only 6.8 percent of the county's employed workforce is currently in farming. However, the agricultural sector as a whole has shown a modest increase in employment, from 968 employees in 1991 to 1,100 in 2000.2 The City of Lamar population was 8,869 in 2000, thus comprising approximately 61 percent of the population in Prowers County. Manufacturing (15.7%), retail trade (14.1%)), educational, health and social services (19.0%), and recreation and food service (10.7%) are the major employers in the City. 1 All population and economic data was obtained from the U.S. Bureau of Census and State of Colorado demographic websites. 2 http://dola.colorado.gov/demog/employ/Empgcod2.cfm Aqua Engineering, Inc. and Colorado State University May 19, 2004 Secondary Supply Feasibility Study -1-