C153808 Feasibility Study

• Contract/PO #: C153808
• Contractor Name: Arkansas Groundwater Users Association
• Contract Type: Loan
• Water District: 14
• County: Pueblo
• Bill Number: ARA
• Loan Projects - Doc Type: Feasibility Study

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The previous FMIC change decrees have established that the amount of consumptive use has varied

from year to year, depending on the amount of water available for diversion under its rights. Because

the actual amount of stream depletion associated with the rights is variable, stream depletion is

represented by using a percentage of the actual an'lount of water delivered by Fountain Mutual to its

shareholders. The historic average annual consun'lptive use yield for each Fountain Mutual share has

been quantified at 0.7 acre-feet per year. Thus, 117 FMIC shares would yield an average of

approximately 124 acre-feet per year for use in AGUA's replacement plan.

Table VI-l summarizes the decreed monthly Fountain Mutual replacement credits as a percentage of

monthly farm headgate delivery. Current policy by the Ditch Company is to consider the farm

headgate delivery as the amount of water being delivered to an augmentation station. The historic

farm headgate delivery is actually a percentage of the Fountain Creek headgate diversion reduced for

ditch loss and reservoir losses (evaporation and seepage). W.W. Wheeler (1991)6 has estimated the

ditch loss at approximately 25 percent of total diversions, the reservoir losses at eight percent, and the

overall farm irrigation efficiency at 75 percent, to determine the average annual consumptive use

credit of 0.7 acre-feet per FMIC share.

Two FMIC augmentation stations already exist and one is being constructed. One existing
augmentation station is used by Fountain, Widefield Home Water Company, and Security to make
releases from Big Johnson Reservoir to Cruse Gulch. Transit Ready Mix has an augmentation station at
its gravel pits that is used to recharge the Widefield aquifer, to offset the Company's tributary well
depletions. The soon to be completed Spring Creek augmentation station is located several hundred
yards downstream from the Fountain Creek headgate. Releases from Spring Creek will go directly
back to Fountain Creek. The capacity of the Spring Creek augmentation station is estimated to be 45
cfs by Mr. Gary Steen, engineer consultant to the FMIC. The Spring Creek augmentation station would
be available to all shareholders in the FMIC.

The selling price for the 177 FMIC shares has not been established by the Venezia Family. It is our
understanding from discussions with Mr. Bruce Kroeker, that FMIC shares have been selling for
approximately $1,500 per share in the last six months, and that would be in the range of a selling price

6

Security Water District Plan for Augmentation and Exchange (Case No. 90CW28) prepared by W. W.
Wheeler and Associates, Inc., November, 1991.

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