BOARD01683

• Board Meeting Date: 5/12/1967
• Description: Agenda, Table of Contents, Minutes, Memos
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Meeting

;J;J.:J.J..

One above pueblo Reservoir.

I

To a great many of these upstream people
on the tributaries, irrigation is a one-shot
operation in the spring for maybe one or two
weeks, then the water is gone. So if there is
a river call the wrong week that is all for
that year. This is also true of junior priori-
ties on the main stem.

The crops are largely mountain meadow hay
or grain and early irrigation will m~,e a crop.
So if optimum use is to be the rule dm1n river
it should apply up here before the water goes
on down. If we are allowed water in the spring,
a large portion of it would return in a rela-
tively short time and is available for reuse.

Of course, this is going to create a
hole in the river down in the next segment.
It is here that heavy pumping can be used to
advantage either into canals or to decrees as
well as whatever else is available to unde-
creed acreage. 1'1e may also call on storage
from Pueblo Reservoir to help decreed rights.

At this point it seems a Water Management
District is going to be necessary to manage
the entire river basin and handle the financ-
ing. Possibly a fee per irrigated acre would
be the best way.

I

The Southeastern Colorado Water Conser-
vancy District could do this or some other
agency might work out better. There is some
taD, that the Southeastern Colorado Water
Conservancy District should be the entity to
deal \-li th the Corps of Engineers on flood
control and so far we are looking into it.

I think this whole program is going to
have to be by mutual agreement and improved
as we go along by trial and error. Taking
land out of production that has a water right,
while other land without a right is being
irriga~ed from either the river or tributary
water, isn't very good economy for the