20

• Board Meeting Date: 7/11/2007
• Description: ISF Section - Hat Creek Water Right Acquisition
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

HELTON & WilLIAMSEN, P.C.
CONSULTING ENGINEERS IN WATER RESOURCES
384 INVERNESS PARKWAY, SUITE 144
ENGLEWOOD, COLORADO 80112-5822
PHONE [phone]
FAX [phone]
e-mail: twilliamsen@.helton-williamsen.com

January 25, 2006

P. Fritz Holleman, Esq.
Porzak Browning & Bushong, LLP
929 Pearl Street, Suite 300
Boulder, Colorado 80302

Subject: Donation of the Hat Creek Ditch Water Right - Vail Associates, Inc.

Dear Fritz:

Vail Associates, Inc. wishes to donate to the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB)
a water right decreed to the Hat Creek Ditch in the upper Brush Creek basin near Eagle. This
letter report provides background and historical use information about the ditch and water right
and comments on how the CWCB could use and benefit from accepting the water right.

Background

The Hat Creek Ditch, Priority No. 335, was decreed for irrigation purposes by the Eagle
County District Court on July 17,1916 in Civil Action No. 673 for 2.0 cfs with an appropriation date
of March 6, 1914. Attachment 1 is a copy of the decree. The point of diversion is on Hat Creek
which is a tributary of East Brush Creek, Brush Creek, and the Eagle River as shown in Figure 1.
The claimants were Joseph Bernatchey and Annie Kirts. The decree identifies the location of land
owned by each claimant and states that each irrigated up to 50 acres by the Hat Creek Ditch (100
acres combined). Each claimant was awarded 1.0 cfs for a total of 2.0 cfs.

Figure 2 is an aerial photo map showing the approximate location of the Hat Creek Ditch,
irrigated meadows and the claimants' approximate property boundaries. I have not been to the
property, so the location of the headgate of the ditch is based on the location described in the
decree and on the UTM coordinates shown in CDSS; and the course of the ditch and location of
the irrigated acreage are based on inspection of the aerial photograph. The identified meadow
(cross-hatched) is the area that appears to be not forested and can be served by gravity from the
diversion point. The area totals 22 acres and is divided between the south field, 10 acres, and the
north field, 12 acres. I believe the irrigated acreage probably is much closer to 22 acres than the
100 acres mentioned in the decree. The elevation of the irrigated meadow is about 8,800 feet.

Table 1 summarizes the diversion records for the Hat Creek Ditch. Excluding 1959 through
1973 when records were unavailable, diversions averaged 136 acre-feet annually and ranged
from none in 16 years to 566 acre-feet in 1984. The records show that the ditch was not used from
1993 through 2004 which I verified with the Water Commissioner. For the 23 years when
diversions were recorded, 1951-1953, 1955-1958, 1976-1988, and 1990-1992, the diversions
averaged 230 acre-feet annually. Peak day diversion rates averaged 1.4 cfs and ranged from 0.6
cfs in 1977 to 2.1 cfs in 1984. The diversion records also show that the first day of recorded
diversion normally occurred in late May to early June and the last day of recorded diversion
normally occurred in late August to early October.