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<br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />,I <br />I <br /> <br />CHAPTER III - WATER RIGHTS AND HYDROLOGY <br /> <br />Two basic sources of water are available for growing crops in the San Miguel Project study <br />areas; natural precipitation and streamflows diverted for irrigation, Precipitation over the study <br />area is very limited, typically averaging less than 14 inches per year, In addition, the occurrence <br />of precipitation during the growing season is highly erratic. Irrigation, therefore, is essential for <br />crop production in this area. <br /> <br />Irrigation water for the study area is supplied by diverting streamflow. Most of the streamflow <br />results from snowmelt runoff from the mountains along the southern portion of the study area. <br />Consequently, streamflow is high in the spring but low during the summer months when crop <br />water demands are high. An additional supply of irrigation water is needed during the months <br />of July, August and September. In the lower portion of the Norwood-Redvale service area, <br />there is also a need for additional water at the beginning of the irrigation season. <br /> <br />To investigate alternatives for increasing the late season water supply for the study area, it was <br />necessary to estimate the availability of water to the project. This information was determined <br />through analyses of water rights and of historical flows, <br /> <br />Water Rights <br /> <br />In Colorado, water rights are administered under the doctrine of prior appropriation in which a <br />water right may be established by diverting water, applying it to a beneficial use and obtaining a <br />court decree acknowledging the diversion and use of water. Beneficial uses recognized by <br />Colorado water law include municipal water supplies, irrigation, commercial and industrial uses, <br />recreation, and maintenance of fisheries. <br /> <br />The seniority of a water right depends upon the date the water is first diverted and put to <br />beneficial use as well as the date of the court decree. The most senior water rights are entitled <br />to divert available streamflows up to the amounts specified in their decrees. Junior water rights <br />may then divert the remaining streamflows or available return flows after the senior water rights <br />have been satisfied. <br /> <br />15 <br />