PROJ00283

• Contract/PO #: FS0009X
• Contractor Name: Swink, Town of
• Contract Type: Loan
• Water District: 0
• County: Otero
• Loan Projects - Doc Type: Feasibility Study

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Well No.5. Well No. 5 is located in the southwest part of Block 9 of the
original Town of Swink. The well was drilled in July, 1946 and is 33 feet
deep. This well is not in use at the present time and is not registered with the
State Engineer's office. The water rights in the quantity of 125 gallons per
minute were adjudicated in October, 1973.

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School Well No.1. School District No. 33's well No. 1 is located in the
northwest corner of the SHOWALTER ADDITION. This well was drilled in the
spring of 1976 as a replacement well. The original well was drilled and put
in service in June., 1950. The current well is approximately 37 feet deep
and is equipped with a 15 Hp pump rated to deliver approximately 225 gallons
per minute. When the well was visited in July, 1976 the pump was sucking air.
The well is registered with the State Engineer's office and the water rights
have been adjudicated. This well is used only for irrigation purposes.

School Well No.2. School District No. 33's well No. 2 is a "soft" water well
used for potable water supply to the school system. The well is reported
to be 454 feet deep. Additional data on this well is currently unavailable.

Aquifers. The shallow "hard" water wells which supply the irrigation and
non-potable water to the Swink system derive their water supply from the un-
consolidated alluvial deposits of the Arkansas River Valley flood plain.
Physically, this supply is very reliable and could be expanded. Individual
wells or well fields can be economically installed which produce quantities
ranging 500 to 1000 gallons per minute. Legally, these supplies might be in
considerable jeopardy and will be discussed later in this report.

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The two "soft" water wells which supply the town's potable water system
derive their water supply from two bedrock acquifers. These are the Dakota
Sandstone Formation and the Cheyenne Sandstone Formation (Sometimes referred
to as the Second Dakota). These formations underlay the entire Arkansas Valley
from Pueblo to Lamar. In the vicinity of Swink the bedrock dips generally
north into the Denver Basin. Limited recharge to the acquifers occurs approxi-
mately 20 miles South of La Junta where the bedrock outcrops in the Apishapa
Uplift. Due to the tilted structure of the bedrock and the topography, wells
drilled into these formations originally flowed by artesian pressure. Due
to increasing withdrawals from the acquifers, the static water levels have
dropped in the past 30 years. This lowering of the static water level does
not necessarily represent a significant decrease in the amount of water
available since the water levels are still above the acquifers. To sustain
pumping rates at the rated capacity of the wells requires deeper pump settings
with high head pumps with larger motors. The permeability of the Dakota
and Cheyenne sandstones is variable. Some areas are too tight to yield more
than 4 or 5 gallons per minute. The permeability in the Swink area is con-
sidered about average. It is doubtful that sustained production rates would
exceed 40 to 60 gallons per minute from either of the bedrock acquifers.

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2.3 WATER RIGHTS AND PERMITS

Of the five existing municipal wells, only two have been registered with the
State Engineer's office. The wells along with pertinent data regarding
registration,. pumping rates, priority date, etc. are listed below.

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