La Junta 1996 WCPlan

• Project Type: Water Conservation Plan
• Project Name: City of La Junta Water Conservation Plan
• Title: Board of Utility Commissioners Water Conservation Plan
• Date: 10/17/1996
• County: Otero
• Water Conservation - Doc Type: Complete Plan

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deposit approximately one mile wide and 40 feet deep at La Junta and continuous in the
river valley. The north boundary of the aquifer is a well-defined outcrop of Fort Hayes
limestone which is followed by the Fort Lyon Canal. The south boundary is under or
near the present course of the Arkansas River. The aquifer is technically a valley fill
deposit and is connected hydraulically to the river. The river controls the water level in
the aquifer by acting as a drain, the water level in the river being lower than that in the
aquifer. Silting in of the river since the construction of the Pueblo Reservoir has
lessened the river drainage and has result in a rise of the aquifer level of 3 to 5 feet
since 1965.

Well pumping rules established by the State Water Engineer in 1972 caused the City to
begin augmentation of river water depletions. The City joined the Colorado Water
Development and Protective Association in that year to provide for augmentation.
Because of new pumping rules this year, the City has purchased first-use water from its
allocation of the Arkansas-Fryingpan Project water for augmentation purposes.

Treatment consists of chlorination in the well fields. Distribution storage is provided on
high ground at the opposite side of the main distribution system from the well fields. At
present four major increased pressure zones exist above the main distribution system of
the City. Each of the pressure zones has its own water storage facility, which controls
the operation of the facilities supplying it.

A booster station in one of the City's three wellfields pumps to an entirely separate
system at the La Junta air field and industrial park, which has its own storage facilities.

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The average, maximum and minimum daily consumptions by month since 1990, as
taken from City records, are shown in Tables 1, 2, and 3, respectively. During the winter
when little water is used for irrigation, the daily consumption is about 1.6 mgd or about
205 gallons per capita per day (gcd). During the hot summer months when lawn
spinkling is at a maximum, the average daily load reaches about 5 mgd or 641 gcd with
peak days equal to 7.0 mgd or 886 gcd. Summer demands exceed those of most Front
Range cities and reflect the effect of the dry arid region, the seasonal nature of major
industries, and low water rates.

La Junta's wastewater treatment consists of a 2.5 MGD activated sludge plant that
serves all but a few industrial customers. Twelve to fifteen industrial and commercial
customers in the Industrial Park to the north of the city are served by evaporative
lagoons. The activated sludge plant has about 1 MGD capacity available for growth,
which equals about 5,000 residential equivalent units. Actual evaporative capacity of
the lagoons at the Industrial Park is about 25,000 gallons per day. The lagoon system
flow is not measured and available capacity has not been determined.

New requirements by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment may
lead to improvements of the lagoons including flow measurement and lining these
lagoons. If this occurs, some benefit may be obtained by developing a treated
wastewater reuse system for irrigation in the Industrial Park.

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