PROJ00495

• Contract/PO #: C153678
• Contractor Name: Lower Arkansas Water Management Association
• Contract Type: Loan
• Water District: 67
• County: Prowers
• Bill Number: SB 96-124
• Loan Projects - Doc Type: Feasibility Study

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The appendix to this report contains copies of LAWMA's Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws,
and Financial Statements for 1993 and 1994.

LAWMA WELL PUMPING

LAWMA began a comprehensive program in 1993 of measuring the irrigation wells
operated by its members and developing power coefficients for them. The program was
continued into 1994 and extended after the promulgation of the 1994 Well Measuring Rules.
These rules required a) that all wells in the Arkansas River basin, except certain exempt,
designated basin, and non-tributary wells, either be rated with power coefficients or equipped
with flow meters, and b) that the owners of these wells submit records for monthly pumping.
In addition, the accuracy of flow meters installed at these wells is to be verified through
discharge measurements. At this time, the wells of all LAWMA members, except a few
relatively new members, have been either rated with power coefficients or equipped with
totalizing flow meters. The results of this measuring program provide the basis for the
estimates of well pumping that are presented in this report section.

Irriaation Wells

As mentioned previously, LAWMA members own or operate 429 irrigation wells. A
total of 407 of these wells are located in the Arkansas River main stem area. The remaining
22 wells are located in areas removed from the main stem,in surficial or bench aquifers north
or south of the main stem or in the Big Sandy Creek area. A total of 321 main stem wells are
used to supplement water available from the Fort Lyon, Keesee, Fort Bent, Amity, Lamar,
Hyde, Manvel, X-V, and Buffalo Canals. The remaining 86 main stem wells provide the sole
sources of supply for the lands they irrigate. In the remainder of this report, the term
"supplemental" refers to wells that are used to supplement water available under surface
rights, and the term "sole source" refers to wells that are used on lands not supplied from
surface rights.

Table 1 shows estimates for the irrigation pumping by LAWMA's present membership
during water years 1986-94. Pumping from most of these wells was calculated using the
power coefficients that were mentioned previously and their annual energy usage as reflected

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