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<br />AGRICULTURE
<br />Richard Hallock
<br />Community Development Specialist
<br />Colorado Stale University
<br />
<br />Let me say just a word about the genesis of my brief presentation. In one of the earlier planning sessions someone said,
<br />"You know, there are going to be some people out there, maybe a very few people in the audience, who really don't
<br />understand the distribution and management system that has grown up over the years on the river." Then someone else
<br />said, "We have to be sure to get someone to explain this in the simplest of terms. It would not be a good idea to get a
<br />nuclear scientist to explain how a light bulb works as no one will ever understand iL" Someone else then said, "I know
<br />just the guy who knows the least about the river of anyone." And, that's why rm here. I guess I first need to say that
<br />those of you who are professional water folks and have been looking forward to an opportunity to take a briefnap, feel
<br />free. But, I do need at least one of you to stay awake to call me to task in case I get something wrong here.
<br />
<br />The river actually operates under two systems. The first of these two systems is the Fryingpan-Arkansas system, which
<br />Steve Arveschoug earlier described. You have heard folks talking about rights and dates and acre-feet, and for those
<br />three or four of you who might not understand that any better than I do, it's kind of a confusing issue. But one thing is
<br />quite clear, and that is that the water which is provided through the Fryingpan-Arkansas process is not a part of that
<br />established rights system. It is a separate thing. It is new water that has been added to the river basin since those rights
<br />were all adjudicated, and it provides supplemental water to those people who already have established, adjudicated
<br />water rights. It supplements municipalities' adjudicated rights, it helps to irrigate 280,000 acres, and as you are well
<br />aware, it certainly helps to provide continuous recreation in the upper Arkansas. About 69,000 acre-feet pass down the
<br />river bed each year as a result of the Fryingpan-Arkansas process; up to 740,00 acre-feet are permitted to be stored in
<br />years when we have all the water we need. Seven hundred forty thousand acre-feet of the stored water will be Fry-Ark
<br />water, the balance of the water stored in the basin, about another 740,000 acre-feet will be normal, standard, nm-of-the-
<br />mill river water. Five reservoirs are involved in the Fry-Ark process. Pueblo Reservoir stores 50% of the total of the
<br />Fry-Ark water. This water is allocated annually by the Southeast Water Conservancy which Steve heads up. And it's
<br />sold. People pay for the water they get through the Fry-Ark system.
<br />
<br />The other system is the natural river system, which is totally committed. In 29 of 30 years, essentially every drop of
<br />water is committed to someone who has the rights to use the water. There are 7,500 cubic-feet-per-second of water
<br />which are owed to somebody down the river. And, only one year of 30 on an average, as I understand it, is there a point
<br />in which the river is called a free river--when there is, at any given time, more than 7,500 acre feet flowing in the river.
<br />At that point, then, those who have an additional need for water may request it. It is then assigned based on their original
<br />priority, if they have any. In 1995, there were three weeks that passed when the river was designated a free river and
<br />extra water was available.
<br />
<br />Over time, using John Martin and other reservoirs, there is a total capacity in the natural river system for storing
<br />741,000 acre feet of water. Thirty-five percent of that water is stored above the Pueblo Reservoir, and 65% is stored in
<br />or below Pueblo Reservoir. Only 15% of the stored water is used above Pueblo, and 85% is used from Pueblo on east to
<br />the Kansas border, so obviously, most of the water is used east of ~eblo.
<br />
<br />Arkansas River Basin Water Forum
<br />
<br />33
<br />
<br />itA River of Dreams and Realities"
<br />
<br />
<br />fve elected to display only slides of Pueblo east, and these are just line diagrams and not detailed drawings. Also, you
<br />will note that water district lines are shown on the slides. There are several water districts involved between Pueblo and
<br />east and the upper regions of the river as well. But, because 85% of the water is being used east of Pueblo, fve elected
<br />only to use those two slides. The big blue dots are the reservoir system, the ditches are shown in lavender. Lavender is
<br />not really a standard mapping color, but there you are anyway. I asked a couple of professionals how many miles of
<br />ditch there are in fact, and nobody knows. These slides show just the main ditches; obviously smaller ditches lead from
<br />the main ditch, and still sxrulIler ditches go to individual fields. I am sure there are probably thousands of miles of ditch
<br />in all. Now, for those of you who really don't know what the hell is going on, I decided to show you a ditch. (slide) 1bat
<br />is a ditch. That is the Fort Lyon Ditch where the water is taken from the Arkansas and put into the Fort Lyon Ditch.
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