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The Pueblo Chieftain Online I Saturday <br />land around her home. She rents the land out to <br />raise chili peppers or other crops and doesn't <br />want it dried up. <br />"Almost everything that can be grown in this <br />valley has been grown here," she said. <br />Selling the family farm's water was a hard <br />decision, she said. Her late husband didn't like <br />the first sale of Rocky Ford water to Aurora in <br />the early 1980s and wouldn't approve of this or <br />either. <br />"It would kill him," she said. <br />Farmer Brian Knapp isn't selling the half share <br />of Rocky Ford Ditch water he owns. His family <br />farms under several other irrigation canals, so <br />the Rocky Ford water wouldn't shut down his <br />operation. <br />"It's not a big deal for us one way or another," <br />Knapp said. <br />He also didn't think Aurora offered enough <br />money and didn't like some aspects of the sale <br />contract. But part of the decision not to sell was <br />more philosophical for Knapp. <br />"We're not making a huge living," Knapp said. <br />"But we're making a living." <br />The non - sellers have formed a group that <br />counts the city of Rocky Ford as a member. The <br />group is monitoring the sale to make sure those <br />left behind will get their fair shares of water. <br />Milenski said the group hasn't decided how <br />much to fight the sale because some information <br />isn't available yet. Crucial to the group and the <br />dozens of other water -issue groups watching the <br />sale is how much land and how many shares <br />Aurora claims. <br />They also want to know what consumptive -use <br />figure Aurora will argue in its water court decree. <br />Consumptive use is a measure of how much of a <br />water right was actually used by the plants being <br />grown in an irrigated field, and is the only water <br />Page 4 of 5 <br />http : / /www.chieftain.com/wednesday /news /display.php3 ?article =4 04/22/2000 <br />