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<br />Water Rights <br /> <br />Rico has a decreed absolute water right of 0.28 c.f.s. based on <br />the present capacity 01' the systeu with 2.72 c.f .s. conditionally <br />, decreed contingent on further developnent of the ws,ter use by the <br />town of Rico. The priority of both decrees is Number 47 and they are <br />dated April 4, :1933. <br />The priority 47 is fairly low since there is 1547.7 c.f.s. on call <br />in priorities 1 through 46 do,mstrealTl from Rico. However, 1404 c.I.s. <br />of the priority water is owned by l10ntezuma Valley Irrigation Company <br />1-1hich uses ..rater from June through September. .!hen water flows drop, <br />the Montezuma Valley Irrigation Company receives most of their flows <br />through the West Fork of the Dolores River which carries their storage <br />water from Groundhog Reservoir. ' It is improbable that Rico's water <br />rights could ever be incompeti tion with the }ion~ezLllTla Valley Irrigation <br />Company's rights. <br />In addition, part of the JS47.7 c.Ls, of priority water is 17..3 <br />c.f,s, ,,,hich is the sum of prior domestic rights for the towns of <br />Dolores and Cortez and for the }lontezuma Water Company, the rural <br />NonteZlllf'.a County domestic water supplier. After talking with the <br />representative from the Colorado State Water Resources Engineer's <br />Office, Chub Speer, Division Engineer, I found that a call fo:' water <br />from the distance of 47 miles dOlmstream by those prior rights that <br />potentially could oall for Rico's water, would be considered a"futi.le" <br />call and would not be answered because it would be impossible to get <br />.3 c.f.s. downstream due to infiltration, evaporation and other losses. <br />In conclusion, the rights enjoyed by a priority 47 of 3.00 c.f .s. <br />by the town of Rico wouJd be adequate and safe. The only probleu is the <br />- 23 - <br />