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<br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />I <br /> <br />CHAPTER IV: WATER <br /> <br />A. <br /> <br />WATER RIGHTS <br /> <br />A.I. Decrees <br /> <br />Table IV -1 summarizes the water rights and decrees for all water owned by The Windsor Reservoir <br />and Canal Company. A copy of the decrees for all the storage reservoirs is included in Appendix <br />C. <br /> <br />A.2. Administration <br /> <br />The water rights are administered by the water commissioner for the Cache La Poudre River <br />system. Based upon discussions with the present water commissioner, the water supply at the <br />referenced reservoirs has been administered based on storage volumes. The storage volume is <br />based on the storage charts indicating gage height versus the storage volume. If there is a dispute <br />with regards to water gauge elevation versus water volume, it is written in the water decrees that <br />the gauge elevation governs. The storage charts for The Windsor Reservoir and Canal Company's <br />reservoirs are shown in Appendix D. There are no storage charts for Elder Reservoir. <br /> <br />The allocation of water in the Poudre River system is based on filling each reservoir in priority or <br />order of rank within the system. This system of filling the water right with the senior priority first <br />is essentially followed; however, in wet years the reservoirs will often be filled out of order. For <br />The Windsor Reservoir and Canal Company's reservoirs, the water commissioner treats their <br />system as one reservoir. Water is allocated to WR&C according to the rank of each decree within <br />the basin and decreed volume. As a water right comes into priority, that volume of water is <br />allocated to WR&C to place in one of its reservoirs as best serves the needs of the company. In <br />general, WR&C tries to keep their water as high in the basin as possible and the water <br />commissioner cooperates with this by filling individual reservoirs out of priority but within the <br />proper seniority for the company's aggregate water right. This benefits both The Windsor <br />Reservoir and Canal Company, the Water Commissioner, and other water users in the basin as the <br />water can be more effectively managed and more easily allocated if it is retained as high up in the <br />basin as possible. Once the water is placed in one of the lower plains reservoirs, the ability to <br />exchange or transfer water within the system becomes very limited and the potential number of <br />users is limited. <br /> <br />A.3. Water Records <br /> <br />A summary of the water storage capacity and decrees for all of the Company's reservoirs, except <br />Elder, are shown in Table IV-l and Appendix D. No capacity chart is available for Elder <br />Reservoir and no storage records are kept by the State Engineer for Elder Reservoir. <br /> <br />The maximum and minimum reservoir storage water levels are plotted for the five reservoirs for <br />the water years 1974 through 1993. These maximum and minimum values are shown on Figure <br />N-l through Figure IV-S. These are a compilation of records kept by the Water Commissioner <br />and The Windsor Reservoir and Canal Company. <br /> <br />Page IV-l <br />WR&C Feasibility Study <br />