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Water from Red Mesa Reservoir is released and distributed in three ditches: Joe Freed Ditch, <br /> Warren Vossburg Ditch, and the Revival Ditch. 2,600 acres of land is served by these three <br /> ditches consisting of about 1,000 acres of irrigated cropland, 1,000 acres of non-irrigated <br /> cropland, and 600 acres of range land. These ditches divert water directly from the LaPlata <br /> River when there is water and they are in priority; depending upon the water availability up to <br /> 1,500 acres is irrigated in the early season. There is not adequate water to serve 1,500 acres of <br /> supplemental water from Red Mesa Reservoir so in any one year about 1,140 acres is served <br /> from the reservoir; however, the actual 1,140 acres changes each year. <br /> Most of the crops are alfalfa with some irrigated pasture and corn silage. Alfalfa is a very good <br /> cash crop bringing $100 to $120 per ton. The alfalfa is very high quality and is being shipped to <br /> New Mexico and Arizona, and in some cases to Florida, for race horses and dairies. Depending <br /> on the water availability,the production ranges from 3 to 6 tons per acre. <br /> Many of the irrigators in the area are installing pipelines and sprinkler irrigation systems to <br /> maximize the water conveyance and application efficiency. When using ditch irrigation, only <br /> about 40% of the water released from the reservoir is available for consumptive use by the crops <br /> due to losses in the ditch conveyance system. Many farmers are installing buried pipelines to <br /> replace a mile or two of the conveyance ditches which decreases the conveyance losses and <br /> produces gravity pressure for operation of sprinkler systems (side roll systems). The pipeline <br /> and sprinklers increase the conveyance and application efficiency from about 40% to about 70%, <br /> essentially doubling the irrigation supply. In 1995, about 640 acres had converted to sprinklers. <br /> The lands served by the Red Mesa Reservoir are included in the proposed Animas-LaPlata <br /> Project (ALP) to be provided a full water supply under pressure, to be constructed by the Bureau <br /> of Reclamation. Current modifications to the ALP proposed by Secretary of Interior Babbitt in <br /> 1998 known as "ultra lite" would preclude any irrigation; therefore, at the present time ALP <br /> would not serve the lands that are irrigated from Red Mesa Reservoir. <br /> 6.0 Water Demands <br /> The enlarged Red Mesa Reservoir would provide irrigation and domestic water. The irrigation <br /> water would most likely be used by lands that have historically been served from the reservoir, <br /> but the Company does not have restrictions that would preclude use on lands outside of the <br /> historic area; these lands could be served directly or by exchange. The domestic water could be <br /> provided as augmentation water for wells, exchange water for diversions made upstream of the <br /> reservoir, or direct supply to a rural water distribution system. <br /> 10 <br />