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SECTION 3 - WATER RIGHTS WATER AVAILABILITY The City of Lamar owns a portfolio of both groundwater and surface water rights. The groundwater wells are primarily used for potable water and the surface water rights are used for City irrigation and aquifer recharge. Lamar owns 3,199.6 shares of the Fort Bent Ditch Company, 350 shares of the Lamar Canal Company, and 293 shares of the Lower Arkansas Water management Association. Lamar is also able to purchase Fryingpan- Arkansas Project water from the Southeastern Colorado Conservancy District and is continuing to be a contributing partner with the Arkansas Valley Conduit Project, which is investigating bringing high quality surface water from Pueblo Reservoir to eastern cities in the Arkansas River basin. The City currently has an application before the Water Court seeking to change the type of use and place of use of the City's shares of ownership of the capital stock of the Fort Bent Ditch Company. New uses to the originally decreed use of agricultural irrigation include potable and non - potable irrigation, domestic and household purposes, commercial, municipal, industrial, generation of electric power and power generally, fire protection, recreation, fish and wildlife preservation and propagation, agricultural uses, livestock water, aqua culture, evaporation, wetlands propagation, ground water recharge, augmentation, replacement and uses in substitute supply plans to replace depletions to the Arkansas River and its tributaries. The City has also requested that the place of use of the Fort Bent Ditch Shares should be changed from their historical place of use to the municipal service area and customers of the City of Lamar whether inside or outside the city limits of the City of Lamar. Lamar has groundwater rights to 43 wells for use in the water supply system. Of the 43 wells, 34 are used for potable water and make up what is known as the "Clay Creek Alluvial well field ". Raw water from the wells is pumped to the Chlorination Building and stored in above grade storage tanks. Of the 34 wells used for potable water, 29 are currently active. The remaining wells are not part of the Clay Creek Alluvial well field and are scattered throughout the City for irrigation of parks, for use at the City's maintenance shop, and for use at the airport. WATER SUPPLY DEMANDS The 29 active groundwater wells are located in three well fields and identified as the "North," "Middle" and "South" well fields. The average daily production rate is 5.83 ac ft. The North and Middle Well fields have TDS concentrations well above EPA and CDPHE SMCLs. The South well field has higher quality raw water and TDS levels that are 50% below the North and Middle well fields. The North and Middle well fields must be blended with the lower TDS water of the South well field. The South well field produces much cleaner water than the Middle and North well fields, and can produce 5.19 ac /ft per day; approximately 88% of the average daily demand for the City. City of Lamar Raw Water Feasibility Study — Colorado Water Conservation Board 4