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There are several instream flow water rights located in District 25. These rights, however, are <br />junior in priority and located within National Forest lands upstream of other water users. <br />Therefore, these rights are generally satisfied by natural flow conditions, and do not require active <br />administration. <br />Drainage and Seepage Ditches <br />There are two significant active drain or seepage ditch systems within District 25, including the <br />Moffat Drain and the Cole Drain. <br />Key Structures <br />To assist in the development of a surface water model of the Rio Grande as part of the RGDSS, <br />discussions with District 25 Commissioners included the identification of "key" diversion <br />structures. Key structures were defined as those that significantly effect water rights <br />administration in the District. The criteria that were used to identify key structures included: <br />• total decreed water right amount under the structure (greater than 5 cfs); <br />• water right priority, either senior or swing rights as identified by the water <br />commissioner during the interview; <br />• relatively large amounts of land irrigated under the structure (250 acres and <br />greater); and <br />• represented in previous modeling efforts. <br />A list of all structures within District 25 is provided as Attachment 2. Fora 5 cfs cutoff, 48 key <br />structures exist in District 25 that represent approximately 79% of the decreed rights in District <br />25. Also, the last column of Attachment 2 includes a descriptor that explains why a structure that <br />appears to meet one or more of the above criteria was not considered key. <br />Reservoir Storage Rights and Operations <br />There are no major reservoirs in District 25. There are numerous decreed storage rights for small <br />reservoirs, lakes and stock ponds in the District. The District Commissioner confirmed that there <br />are no storage rights that significantly effect water rights administration. Although numerous <br />small stock ponds exist in the District with decreed water rights, these ponds fill each year with <br />natural local runoff from precipitation. <br />Trans-Mountain Diversions <br />There are no trans-mountain delivery or release points within District 25. <br />Day to Day Water Rights Administration <br />Water rights administration occurs by way of frequent and detailed communication between the <br />District 25 Commissioners, the Division 3 Engineer (Steve Vandiver) and his staff, and the many <br />ditch owners in the District. The Commissioner works closely with ditch owners to inform them <br />of flow conditions, curtailment requirements, calling water right priorities, and their own <br />individual entitlements. The Commissioner actively works to control and adjust several of the <br />ditch headgates, and simply request adjustments by owners of other structures. The required <br />frequency to adjust headgate structures (diversion flow rate) is a function of the variability of <br />C:Acdss\D25_Mem.doc District 25 Interview July 2, 1999 -Page 7 of 9 <br />