FLOOD10516

• County: Delta
• Basin: Gunnison
• Title: North Fork Water Conservancy District Water Management Plan
• Date: 7/1/2001
• Prepared For: Delta County
• Prepared By: Delta Soil Conservation District
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Floodplain Report/Masterplan

I.
I

,I

I'"
I
I
I
I
I
I
I t-~)
, --"

I
I
I
I
I
U
I
I :)
I

- .~

L_--

North Fork Water Conservancy District - Water Management Plan...

TABLE 2-3
Senior Water Rights on the North Fork1

Name : Amount (CFS) Adjudication Comments
I
Stewart Ditch2 I
I 5.98 4/12/1901
Stewart Ditch I 50.75 2/20/1904
I
North Fork Farmers Ditch2 24.80 4/12/1901
I
Wade & Hightower ditch2 2.25 4/12/1901 Alternative point at
Paonia Ditch2 I 10.85 4/12/1901 Paonia Ditch
I
Monitor Ditch i 8.25 4/12/1901
,
,
Short Ditch , 10.50 4/12/1901
:
Short Ditch 2.20 2/20/1904
SheparcltWilmont Ditch 8.20 4/12/1901
SheparcltWilmont Ditch 0.375 2/20/1904
Vandeford Ditch , 4/1211901
14.50
Smith/McKnight Ditch 4.05 4/12/1901
Smith/McKnight Ditcn 0.875 2/20/1904
Totals , 143.50

1. Senior in priority to Fire Mountain Canal's 50 CFS adjudicated on 2/20/1904 (in downstream order). 2. Water rights that "call ouf' the
Fire Mountain Canal. A "call for water" is placed with the Water Commissioner when senior water right holders are not receiving their
decreed amount of water. YVhen a "call" is placed. the Water Commissioner curtails upstream diversions that are junior in priority to the
calling. water right until the ~lIing water righfs decree is satisfied.
i

I
Delivery System
:

Paonia Reservoir
;

,
Construction of Pa()nia Reservoir was completed in January of 1962 with an active storage capacity of
21,000 acre feet; p'n 11,000 acre feet conservation pool and a 10,000 acre feet sedimentation pool
(USBOR 1957). Perpetual water service contracts provide 8,100 acre-feet annually to Fire Mountain
I
Canal and 4,550 a~re feet annually to LCWUA. In 1977, a 5-year, renewable Supplemental Water Sale
Contract was developed with the RMWUA for 2,000 acre-feet annually.
I
I
In 1988, the USBOR conducted a study to estimate the loss of storage in the sedimentation pool. The
active storage caPiilcity was determined to be 16,527 acre-feet, a loss of 4,473 acre-feet since the initial
filling in 1962. It is [estimated that the reservoir loses 100 acre-feet annually to sedimentation. Therefore,
the present storage is estimated at 15,327 acre-feet with 14,650 acre-feet contracted to users.
Approximately 677: acre-feet of non-contracted water remains in Paonia Reservoir today. The USBOR
retained the right t9 use water stored in sedimentation pool. However, it was assumed that the Paonia
Project would use storage in the sedimentation pool until it was no longer in existence (USBOR 1957). If
sedimentation OCC4rs at the estimated rate, there will be no space remaining in the sedimentation pool by
the year 2007 (Ozga 2000).
I
Generally, the Pao!1ia Reservoir is emptied by the end of September and fills during the spring run-off to
provide flood control. In an average year, the reservoir begins filling by May 1 and reaches storage
capacity by June 1; By July 15, water is typically released for Fire Mountain Canal and the LCWUA. The
reservoir is normally emptied by September 30. To maintain flood control capacity, current operating
policy does not allow water to be carried over to subsequent years.

2-6