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<br />. <br /> <br />WATER REQUIREMENTS <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Historically, an average of approximately 1.2 acre-feet per acre <br />per year was diverted from the Rio Grande to irrigate 45,000 acres of <br />land. This water supply was supplemented by wells. This historical <br />supply of 1.2 acre-feet per acre per year measured at the river head- <br />gate is inadequate to provide a full water supply for the crops grown. <br />The weighted potential consumptive use of irrigation water has <br />been estimated to be 1.5 acre-feet per acre. With a 60 percent farm <br />head gate efficiency and a 40 percent ditch loss, the required diversion <br />from the Rio Grande would be 4.2 acre-feet per acre. This amounts to <br />a river headgate diversion of 189,000 acre-feet per year. Actually, <br />with conjunctive use of water, the wells utilize deep percolation and <br />ditch loss to supplement the water delivered to the farms on the surface. <br />With conjunctive use, the full water supply requirement at the river <br />headgate would be approximately 2.5 acre-feet per acre or 113,000 acre- <br />feet per year. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />-27- <br />