PROJ00005 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I Table 2 shows monthly and annual diversions into the Fort Lyon Storage Canal from the Arkansas River for the period 1951-75. These data were compiled from the Fort Lyon Annual Reports; their source was a rated canal section located about one mile downstream from the headgate. The annual diversions averaged 20,200 acre-feet while ranging from zero in 1959 to over 130,000 acre-feet in 1957. Although not shown in this Table, Horse Creek and Adobe Creek contributed an average of 3,700 acre-feet per year, or about 15 percent of the total system water supply. Monthly and annual releases from the Horse Creek-Adobe Creek Reservoir system are shown on Table 3. The releases averaged about 11,500 acre-feet per year. During four years of the analysis period, water was not released from the reservoir system. 3.3 The Great Plains Reservoir System This system presently is owned and operated by the Amity Mutual Irrigation Company. The system consists of four reservoirs, the Neeskah (Queen), Neenoshe (Sanding Water), Neegrondo (Big Water), and Neesopah (Black Water), all of which were constructed in natural depressions in the late 1800's. The decree for the system permits storage of 273,552 acre-feet annually under the priority date of August I, 1896. Of this total amount, 183,460 acre-feet are usable capacity. Queen Reservoir is commonly referred to with its English name, the other three with their Indian names. Water for the Great Plains system is diverted from the Arkansas River at the Fort Lyon Canal headgate. It is transported about 42 miles in the Fort Lyon Canal to a point where it is bifurcated into the Kicking Bird Canal. The Kicking Bird Canal carries the water about 36 miles to another bifurcation point, which serves as a control point for the reservoir complex. Neenoshe, Neegronda, and Neesopah Reservoirs are filled through the Kicking Bird and Lone Wolf Canals and can act as one reservoir, depending upon reservoir stage since they are connected by deep cuts. Queen Reservoir, however, is completely independent and receives water through the 12-mile Santanta Canal. The Fort Lyon direct flow priorities, totaling 933 cfs, are senior to the Great Plains priority and are, therefore, satisfied before water is released into the Kicking Bird Canal. The decree in Civil Action No. 2158, Bent County District Court (October 31, 1944), specifies the relationships between the Fort Lyon and the Amity concerning the operation of the Great Plains Reservoir system. The Fort Lyon diverts water under the Great Plains priority and carries it to the Kicking Bird. The Fort Lyon in return has a preferential right for the use and benefit of 5,483 acre-feet of the Queen Reservoir water. 9