C153719 Transfer of Water Rights

• Contract/PO #: C153719
• Contractor Name: Johnstown, Town of
• Contract Type: Loan
• Water District: 13
• County: Larimer
• County: Weld
• Bill Number: SB 94-029
• Loan Projects - Doc Type: Report

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Since botb the Big Thompson Ditch and the Big Thompson Ditch and Manufacturing Company have
been used soley for municipal purposes since 1927 and 1928 respectively, their consumptive use and
river depletions will be addressed under the Municipal COl!lsumptive Use and Return Flows section of
this report.

Consolidated Home Supply Ditch

The Town currently owns 6.25 shares of the Consolidated Home Supply Ditch which were part of a
nine share block used to irrigate 80 acres of CQrn, alfalfa, barley and beans on land which lies
between the Home Supply Ditch and the Little Thompson River. To supplement the water supply
needs of crops produced on this 80 acres, 93 units of Colorado Big Thompson (CBT) project water
were utilized. (The CBT units are!1Q1 a part of this transfer.) This 6.25 shares of Home Supply
Ditch was used to irrigate 35 acres as further discussed under Agricultural Diversion Records and
Consump~ive Use.

These 6.25 shares are to be converted from agricultural to direct flow and storage and for municipal
purposes.

MUNICIPAL CONSUMPI'IVE USE AND RETURN FLOWS

The Johnstown municipal water system is unique in that since 1983 about 55-60 percent of the water
produced at the water treatment plant has been delivered to a single customer, Coors Bio-Tech.
Additionally, Coors Bio-Tech has its own wastewater treatment facility, which like the Town's plant
discharges to the Little Thompson River.

To evaluate the amount of water consumed by Johnstown, as a percentage of water actually produced
at the water treatment plant, CDM investigated (1) produc1tion records at the water treatment plant,
(2) discharge records at the Town's municipal wastewater treatment facility, and (3) discharge records
at Coors' Bio-Tech wastewater treatment facility. The Town's records covered the full years, 1985
through 1989. These were analyzed separately to define the Town's municipal return flows and then
combined with information from Coors Bio-Tech for the period September 1989 through July 1990 to
evaluate the return flows for the Town's entire municipal system for the most recent period of record.

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