CRDSS_Task1_15-24_SmithForkAreaWaterRights_CrawfordWCD

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CRDSS TASK MEMORANDUM 1.15-24 Water Rights Planning Model Smith Fork Area Water Rights - Crawford Water Conservancy District 1.0 ISSUE This memorandum describes the operation of the major irrigation water rights that divert from the Smith Fork of the Gunnison and that are used to irrigate lands in the vicinity of Crawford, Colorado. Most of these major water rights also benefit from storage releases from Crawford Reservoir, operated by the Crawford Water Conservancy District (CWCD). 2.0 DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS General Description of Smith Fork Water Rights The CWCD was formed as the sponsoring agency for operation and repayment of the Smith Fork Project, which consists of Crawford Reservoir and other ditch improvements that provide for supplemental irrigation water supplies to lands historically served by six senior ditches diverting from the Smith Fork: (1) the Crawford Clipper, (2) the Grandview Ditch (Aspen Ditch), (3) the Needle Rock Ditch, (4) the Saddle Mountain Ditch, (5) the Virginia Ditch, and (6) the Daisy Ditch. Water rights for these senior ditches are summarized in Table 1. The water rights for the Crawford Reservoir and the Aspen Canal, constructed as part of the Smith Fork Project, are also shown in Table 1. Information contained in this memorandum was obtained from a review of the State's tabulation of water rights, a review of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's (USBR?s) Definite Plan Report for the Crawford Project, and through interviews with John Cunningham, the Manager of the CWCD. Prior to the construction of Crawford Reservoir in 1962, irrigation diversions were made pursuant to the respective direct flow water rights out of the Smith Fork, and the available supplies were generally inadequate for a full irrigation supply to all of the serviceable lands. Storage of surplus water in the reservoir during the winter months and the spring runoff enabled a full supply to most of the historic acreage. Mr. Cunningham reported that a recent crop census indicated approximately 9,800 acres served by the project. Irrigated acreage data obtained from the CRDSS consumptive use group indicates a total of approximately 10,300 acres. Crawford Reservoir The key component of the Smith Fork Project is the 14,064 acre-foot Crawford Reservoir. This reservoir is filled in part by non-irrigation season inflows on Iron Creek, which include not only the native flow of the drainage but also irrigation return flows from a number of ditches that import water from the Crystal Creek watershed (Cattlemens Ditch, Dyers Fork Ditch, and the Fruitland Canal). These transbasin ditch systems are described in Task Memorandum 1.15-22. The majority of the reservoir inflows are supplied from the Smith Fork Feeder Canal with a decreed and physical capacity of approximately 150 cubic feet per second (cfs). The Feeder Canal is an enlargement of the senior Daisy Ditch. 1 A275 01.09.95 1.15-24 Fosha, Hyre