PROJ00414

• Contract/PO #: C153326
• Contractor Name: Fruitland Mesa Water Conservancy District
• Contract Type: Grant
• Water District: 0
• County: Montrose
• Bill Number: XB 99-999
• Loan Projects - Doc Type: Feasibility Study

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Section 3: Water Rights

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A. Existing

The project area falls within Water District 40 in Division 4 of
the State of Colorado. The waters to be used in the project area are
to be obtained mainly from the Crystal Creek. A listing of the water
rights of that creek is given in Table 5.

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The most senior' water right on the Crystal Creek is that of the
Cattleman's Ditch, which can draw a discharge of up to 50 cfs. This
is followed by the Crystal Valley Ditch (13.35 cfs), Castle Peak Ditch
(20.0 cfs), Dyer Fork Ditch 03.25 cfs), and Fruitland Canal (67.44
cfs). The storage rights of the Gould Reservoir totaling 15,584.95
acre feet are next in seniority, followed again by Fruitland Canal
(74.70 cfs), and additional water rights for Cattleman's Ditch.
Certain water rights of small volumes given in the Table are not
stated here because fulfilling those rights does not have any signifi-
cant effect on the operation of the overall project.

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Under normal conditions, if diversions from the Crystal Creek are
made to the full extent as permissible during the five-month irriga-
tion season, the diversions and the adjudicated storage in the Gould
Reservoir would far exceed the annual runoff of the Crystal Creek.
However, occasional runoffs in the Crystal Creek, which are more than
the ditch water rights or are in excess of the actual demands of the
senior water right holders, make it possible to store water in the
Gould Reservoir and to meet junior water rights in the system.

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The only major water right on the Gunnison River below its conflu-

ence point with the Crystal Creek, which is senior to the water rights

of Fruitland Mesa except the Cattleman's Ditch, is that of the Gunni-

son Tunnel (1300 cfs) in Water District 62. The carrying capacity of

the tunnel and the conveyance system is a maximum of 1,000 cfs.

Verbal inquiries made from the Water Commissioners' office at Montrose

and the Fruitland Mesa Water Conservancy District have revealed that

in the past there was never an occasion when diversions from the

Crystal Creek had to be curtailed to meet the water rights of the

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