Arkansas - Las Animas Sanitary Sewer System Improvements_Application

• Basin Roundtable: Arkansas
• Applicant: City of Las Animas
• Description: City of Las Animas Sanitary Sewer System Improvements
• Account Source: Statewide
• Board Meeting Date: 3/19/2008
• WSRA - Doc Type: Grant Application

Water Supply Reserve Account - Grant Application Form
Fonn Revised May 2007

6. Water Availability and Sustainability - this information is needed to assess the viability and effectiveness of
the water project or activity. Please provide a description of each water supply source to be utilized for, orthe
water body to be affected by, the water activity. For water supply sources being utilized, describe its location,
yield, extent of development, and water right status. For water bodies being affected, describe its location,
extent of development, and the expected effect of the water activity on the water body, in either case, the
analysis should take into consideration a reasonable range of hydrologic variation.

As with the majority of the communities in eastern Colorado, the City of Las Animas derives its water supply
from ground water sources. The city currently operates seven ground water wells to supply the potable water
system. These are shallow wells draw ground water from the Arkansas River alluvium. Ground water from
these wells is administered by the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, Office of the State Engineer.
These wells are classified as non-exempt, tributary wells which require augmentation. This water source
contains very high concentrations of minerals consisting primarily of sulfate, sodium, calcium and
magnesium.

A review of the State Engineer's office database indicates that the city has absolute water rights for 11 wells.
The 11 wells have a total adjudicated right in the amount of 15.38 cubic feet per second (cfs) , or 6,900
gallons per minute (gpm). These rights were adjudicated in State Water Court Division NO.2 under case No.
W1577 on May 7, 1973. The appropriation dates (similar to priority dates for surface water) range from
December 1906 for Well No.6, up to July 25, 1967 for Well NO.5. The records do not indicate any annual
limits on total water pumped. The original 11 wells in the court decree consist of the eight city wells and three
additional wells located in the southwest quarter of the northwest quarter of Section 11; this being southeast
of the city. These three wells, apparently no longer used, still retain their water rights under the decree. The
actual locations of several of the city wells do not coincide with the locations listed in the State Engineer's
database. This indicates that they have been replaced and/or relocated since the 1973 decree.

Very little information on the existing wells is available from the city. Individual well installation, equipping and
test pumping reports are not available. Thus, it is not known when each well was actually constructed. If a
well is original and has not been redrilled, the likely installation date is around the date of appropriation as
listed in the State Engineer's database. Each well is equipped with a submersible well pump. Hydraulic
calculations estimate that well pump horsepowers are in the range of 15 to 30 depending on the rated
pumping capacity. This range of horsepower of the pump motors would typically require a 240 volt or 480
volt, 3-phase service.

Wells currently designated as Nos. 2 through 7 consist of a bored hole to a depth ranging from 26 to 36 feet
deep. The hole is cased and has a well screen in the bottom. Static water levels are approximately 8 to 10
feet below the ground surface. These wells have a well cap on the top and are enclosed within an individual
well house. The well houses consist of a small masonry block building with a removable wood roof for
access to the well pump. Well NO.1 consists of a 24-foot diameter hand dug, concrete lined cistern installed
around 1919. Discharge is through an in-ground meter vault. All of these wells are controlled by a
supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system to start and stop the wells based on a call from the
WTP. According to the city staff, Wells 1,6 and 7 are the best, most reliable producers.

Historically, each well was metered with monthly pumpage being reported to the State Engineer's office.
However, in 2003 the state allowed the city to report the combined well pumpage using the WTP flow meters.
Thus the existing meters at each well have not been calibrated in three years.

The following table is a summary of the information available on each of the city's eleven wells as adjudicated
in the May 7,1973 Water Court Decree for Case No. W1577.

F:\WPDATA\Las Animas\Wastwater\06 SSCoI\Financial\Roundtable\06-07 Application (may 07).doc

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