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3. Orchard Mesa Check Case. The 272 cfs of water which operates the turbine pumps is released to a downstream channel. A concrete dam with hydraulic gates is located at the lower end of the channel. When the gates are raised, water flows directly back to the river just downstream of the Grand Valley Irrigation Company (GVIC) intake. When the gates are closed, the water level rises sufficiently to allow flow into a side canal, which returns the flow to the river aboYe the GVIC intake. The gated dam structure is known as the Orchard Mesa 'check' . OMID and GVIC have historically been able to operate the check at their discretion. When flows are low in the river, water is diverted to GVIC; this reduces the possibility of a 'call' against OMID' s junior water rights. However, diverting the water reduces OMID's pumping capacity, since water level in the afterbay is raised and overall head is reduced. Thus, diversions are used as a last resort. Several objectors have filed a lawsuit against OMID and GVIC. Upstream users are requesting that the check dam operation be placed under jurisdiction of the Division Engineer, and that water be diverted to GVIC before the 'Cameo Call' is placed on the river. The case has recently been settled out of court. As part of the settlement, an application for an adjudicated water right for the check structure was filed in Division 5 Water Court in 1991, case 91CW247. The stipulated settlement for the check will implement a management team consisting of eight entities. They are: Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Colorado Water Conservation Board, Colorado Water Division Five, Grand Valley Water Users Association, Grand Valley Irrigation Company and Orchard Mesa Irrigation District. The management team will meet prior to July 1 each year to project the possible check operations for July thru October of any given year. A release schedule and amounts to be released from Green Mountain Reservoir will be determined at the annual meeting of the management team. On years when checking and releases from Green Mountain Reservoir are needed, the management team will meet periodically from July through October to review the operational plan that was developed for any given year. 4. Transfer of Water Rights Within the District Since the rights to use water from the OMID system are appurtenant to the irrigab1e lands in the District, the rights to use OMID water are automatically transferred with the land when irrigab1e land is transferred from one owner to another. IV-8 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I, I I I I