PROJ02008

• Contract/PO #: FS0073FX
• Contractor Name: Lamar, City of
• Contract Type: Grant
• Water District: 0
• Loan Projects - Doc Type: Feasibility Study

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Table 1. Prowers County Employment by Occupations

Number Percent
Management, professional and
related occupations 1,754 26.3
Service occupations 1,060 15.9
Sales and office occupations 1,526 22.8
Farming, fishing and forestry
occupations 456 6.8
Construction, extraction and
maintenance occupations 785 11.7
Production, transportation and
material receiving occupations 1,100 16.5

Approximately 34 percent of the City's population over the age of 16 is not in the active
labor force (i.e., not employed). This compares to a state average of 29.9 percent. This
figure should not be confused with unemployment. This economically non-active
population consists of retirees and those unemployed because they are in school, etc.
For the population aged 16 years and older, what might be considered the effective
workforce (Le., not in school and not part of the economically inactive population sector),
the unemployment rate is 3.3 percent, compared to a state figure of 3.0 percent. The
poverty rate of individuals 18 years of age or older is 15.3 percent, as compared to the
state average of 8.6 percent.

Description of Current Water Use

Currently, the City of Lamar provides water to approximately 3,400 customers in a
service area of about 4 square miles. Potable water supplies are developed from 43
adjudicated wells, 35 of which withdraw water from the Clay Creek alluvium. The
average annual amount of water pumped through these wells from 1975 to 1998 was
2,390 acre-feet. The remaining 8 wells withdraw water from the Arkansas alluvium and
are used only for irrigation purposes at a park, cemetery, and airport. The total amount
of water pumped from these wells in 1998 was approximately 50 acre-feet. Through a
series of transmission and distribution lines and two storage tanks, the City is capable of
providing adequate potable water for domestic and irrigation uses. The City estimates
that with its current water supply, it can serve a population of 9,200 through 2020.

Aqua Engineering, Inc.
and Colorado State University
May 19, 2004

Secondary Supply Feasibility Study
-2-