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<br />CHAPTER 3 <br /> <br />THE FT. LYON CANAL SYSTEM AND ITS ENVIRONMENT <br /> <br />3.1 Introduction <br /> <br />The Ft. Lyon Canal Company is a mutual irrigation company that supplies water for the <br />irrigation of approximately 92,600 acres in Otero, Bent, and Prowers counties. The company <br />obtains water from the Arkansas River through the Ft. Lyon Canal which has senior direct flow <br />water rights, and the Fl. Lyon Storage Canal which supplies water to Horse Creek and Adobe <br />Creek Reservoirs. The facilities of the company are shown on the Fort Lyon System Map (Map) <br />at the front of this report. Topics which are covered in this Chapter include a description of the <br />system of delivery, water rights, operations, diversion data, estimated yield, share value, soil <br />characteristics, and a brief description of environmental and wildlife characteristics. <br /> <br />The Fl. Lyon Canal Company is organized pursuant to Colorado statute (eR.S. 7-42-101). The <br />company has approximately 93,989 shares of stock outstanding. As a mutual ditch company it <br />has the power to make contracts and incur binding liabilities to provide water to stockholders <br />based on their proportion of stock ownership. The operations are financed through stockholder <br />approved assessments (Ft. Lyon Canal Company Articles and Bylaws 1991). The company is <br />governed by a five-person board of stockholder directors who are elected yearly. <br /> <br />The ability of a stockholder to acquire or dispose of his/her shares of stock in the company is <br />subject to limitations of the company bylaws. Water transfers require approval by the Board of <br />Directors. Water may be transferred within each of the five operating divisions of the canal <br />company or to upstream divisions (Ft. Lyon Canal Company Bylaws 1991). Water may not be <br />transferred out of the ditch or to downstream divisions. Data on the operating divisions are <br />summarized on the map. <br /> <br />3.2 PhYSical SYStem <br /> <br />The major facilities of the Ft. Lyon Canal Company system include the Ft. Lyon Canal, the Ft. <br />Lyon Storage Canal, Horse Creek Reservoir (also known as Timber Lake) and Adobe Creek <br />Reservoir (also known as Blue Lake). <br /> <br />The Ft. Lyon Canal headgate is located on the north bank of the Arkansas River about four <br />miles upstream from La Junta. The canal extends generally east a distance of approximately 100 <br />miles. Water for Ft. Lyon shareholders is released into 365 headgates distributed along its length <br />(Smith 1993). <br /> <br />The Fort Lyon Canal also diverts the Amity Mutual Irrigation Company's Great Plains reservoir <br />system water rights at the Fort Lyon headgate. The Great Plains reservoir system consists of Nee <br /> <br />3-1 <br />