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Alamosa Farm Lateral 3.50 mi. <br />Highline Lateral 1.60 mi. <br />North Alamosa Lateral 14.47 mi. <br />South Alamosa Lateral 13.50 mi. <br />Moss Lateral 1.97 mi. <br />Horseshoe Lateral 5.00 mi. <br />Hart Lateral 4.47 mi. <br />Twenty Foot Lateral 10.27 mi. <br />Ten Foot Lateral 8.80 mi. <br />Eight Foot Lateral 3.00 mi. <br />Total 85.57 mi. <br />Water Allocation Among Owners <br />Water is delivered to owners of the Company on a pro-rata basis, with water deliveries being <br />proportional to the number of shares owned. The amount of water actually delivered is also <br />dependent on the amount of water available for diversion at the river and the amount of <br />transportation loss experienced, which can be as high as 30 percent. <br />Use of Storage Water <br />The Company has no storage water rights or facilities. However, in 1997 they obtained the right <br />to store water under their direct flow water rights as decreed in Case No. 95CW018. Storage <br />under direct flow rights owned by the Company can occur in either Santa Maria, Continental or <br />Rio Grande reservoirs. Storage is subject to a shrinkage of about 24 percent: 13 percent of <br />storable flows must be bypassed at the Canal headgate when storing water, and 11 percent of <br />released water cannot be diverted at the headgate. The direct flow storage decree requires that the <br />Company be in priority for its full 512 cfs for 8 consecutive days before storing, or for 10 days if <br />there is a break in priority. <br />The Company participates in direct flow storage when share owners are generally satisfied with <br />their direct flow deliveries. In 1998, the Company stored under direct flow rights for 4 days, and <br />in 1997 they stored for 25 days. The Company typically stores less than 100 cfs of its direct flow <br />rights. Releases of direct flow storage water occur when the Company's direct flow diversion <br />rights begin to go out of priority in an effort to keep the total amount of water run through the <br />Canal at 318 cfs. The travel time between the Canal and upstream storage locations is <br />approximately 24 hours. <br />Use of Groundwater <br />Use of groundwater is an important component of irrigation under the Empire Canal In fact, <br />most land owners under the Canal have additional sources other than direct flow water. These <br />sources include groundwater, drain water, surface rights on Rock Creek, Alamosa River and La <br />Jara Creek, and/or shares in other canal companies (e.g. Monte Vista Canal). Land owners <br />relying only on river water typically raise pasture and have lower water demands. <br />Groundwater is probably the most widely used supplemental water supply. Approximately 33 <br />percent of lands under the Empire are served by wells. Almost all of these wells pump from the <br />confined aquifer except several shallow wells on the north end of the system. In general, there <br />C:Acdss\EMPCanal.doc Commonwealth Irrigation Co. Interview June 23, 1999 -Page 5 of 7 <br />