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Baxter Lake <br />A natural water body named Baxter Lake is located within the northeastern extent of the <br />irrigated acreage under the Boulder Larimer Ditch. A 400 ac-ft storage right for Baxter Lake <br />is included in the water rights tabulation for the ditch company but, according to ditch <br />company representatives, this lake is not used for water supply and can not be filled with <br />ditches under their system. Baxter Lake is essentially a depression that is not used and does <br />not collect much irrigation return flow or natural runoff. Apparently, the lake was <br />sporadically filled in the past by the ditch rider on the Consolidated Home Supply Ditch but <br />has been essentially empty since that ditch rider died years ago. <br />Ground Water Rights <br />About 10 to 12 wells have historically been used on farms at the eastern end of the Boulder <br />Larimer Ditch to supplement surface water supplies. Historically, the wells were only used <br />sporadically. These wells were previously covered under lower South Platte River basin <br />augmentation plans. The wells are not covered under separate augmentation plans and have not <br />been used in the last few years due to the questionable status of the lower basin augmentation <br />plans. <br />Transbasin Water <br />The ditch company is within the boundaries of the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy <br />District (NCWCD). C-BT water can be delivered directly to the Boulder Larimer Ditch headgate. <br />Currently, irrigators under the ditch company own/lease 414 C-BT units. Use of C-BT shares in <br />the ditch system has dropped significantly since the 1950s due to units being sold as land under <br />the ditch is changed to residential uses. <br />Administration <br />Administration of the water rights associated with Boulder Larimer Ditch Company involves <br />interaction with the Water District 4 Water Commissioner and the Division 1 Engineer. The <br />ditch rider is generally in contact with the Water Commissioner during periods of storage and <br />during periods when direct flow calls have been placed downstream on the Little Thompson <br />River. <br />The Little Thompson storage rights are generally senior to the downstream storage rights on the <br />South Platte River and are therefore able to divert, in priority, with respect to other active Little <br />Thompson winter diversions. In normal years, calls from the South Platte do not affect <br />administration in Water District 4 and diversions are limited by available physical flow in the <br />Little Thompson River, which requires active management of ditch company storage and <br />transbasin water in order to maintain water deliveries to shareholders during the latter months of <br />the irrigation season. <br />OPERATIONAL INFORMATION <br />Operation of the Boulder Larimer Ditch system is coordinated to optimize the available <br />resources and provide shareholders with the maximum amount of water during the irrigation <br />Boulder Larimer Ditch Memorandum.doc 9 of 11 October 28, 2004 <br />