C150402 CT2015-090 Feasibility Study

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WATER RIGHTS Within the District's approximately 86,000 acres of land capable of irrigation, many water users, including the Ephraim Ditch Company, are just north of the Colorado- New Mexico border in the area of The Confluence, where the Main Stem and the North Branch of the Conejos converge with the San Antonio River. Irrigators in and below The Confluence hold the last line of defense for the Colorado Department of Water Resources (DWR), which administers the Rio Grande Compact. However, in this critically important reach of the Conejos, where century old structures were built for wetter times, irrigators are facing increasingly high maintenance costs and are too often unable to get their water when in priority. This project strengthens the water rights of irrigators and protects the assets of stockholders throughout the Conejos River system. Platoro Reservoir is located on the mainstem of the Conejos River and serves a large part of the irrigated lands within the District. The Conejos rises at the Continental Divide in the San Juan Mountains and flows through Platoro Reservoir, continuing through Conejos County until it reaches the Rio Grande, 2 miles north of the settlement of Los Sauces. The Conejos River has an annual average flow of 200,000 acre feet. Nearly 40%of Colorado's Rio Grande Compact obligation is met by the Conejos River, a tributary to the upper Rio Grande. The Rio Grande Compact requires an average of 45% of the Conejos' upper index, including transportation losses in getting the flow to Los Sauces and to the Conejos' lower gauge. There are 42 ditch companies on the main and north channels of the Conejos. Water stored in Platoro Reservoir (Project water) is allocated to lands within the District based on acreage. Ephraim Ditch diverts from the Conejos River. The March 28, 1881 decree for the Ephraim Ditch, which is Ditch No. 52, states that the ditch "takes its water from the Conejos River, with the headgate situated on the Conejos River, 35 chains from the N.W. corner off the N.E. Qr. of Sec. 20, Twp. 34, N. Range 10, E.N.M.M. Its general course is northwesterly, with a length of 5 miles, and is entitled by appropriation to the use of water from said River to Priority No. 56. Water is used for irrigation of lands and for domestic purposes," with a decree of 47 cfs). The maximum cumulative decreed direct flow rate should be the minimum design capacity of any structure that is located upstream of the service area of the canal. That design criterion is essential to avoid any indication of intent to abandon any part of any water right. Beyond the protection of direct flow rights, further design capacity considerations include possible additional flows from reservoir deliveries, upslope tailwater, precipitation runoff, and delivery scheduling allowances. 10 Prepared by the Conejos Water Conservancy District, P.O. Box 550, Manassa,CO 81141 Per contract: Nicole V.Langley,Transforma Research&Design(www.transformagrants.com)