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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Colorado Beef

In March 1995, LAWMA entered into an agreement with Colorado Beef as a means of
augmenting the new depletions at the Colorado Beef feedlot. Colorado Beef owns the West
Farm, which is located under the Lamar Canal; has removed a portion of the West Farm from
irrigation; and has committed a corresponding portion of the water supply to augmentation.
Although Colorado Beef had established more than enough consumptive use credits to replace
the new depletions, it did not have water to replace the new winter depletions and winter
return flow from the dried-up acreage. In effect, LAWMA agreed to provide winter
replacement water from its Article II Storage Accounts in exchange for consumptive use
credits during the irrigation season. On an average annual basis for the present level of feed
lot operation, LAWMA will provide 349 acre-feet of account water during the winter and will
receive 466 acre-feet of consumptive use credit during the irrigation season. Both values will
increase in roughly the same ratio under an expanded operation.

Lamar Liaht and Power Plant

The practice of discharging water from the Lamar Power Plant into the Lamar Canal
benefits upstream water users under certain river conditions. These benefits occur generally
during relatively low river flows. specifically when it is not necessary to pass water by the
Lamar headgate to satisfy downstream rights. These benefits occur either a) to the Lamar
Canal by increasing the water available under its priorities or b) to an upstream canal by
reducing the water that must be passed by its headgate to satisfy the Lamar Canal priorities.
During time periods when there is no conservation storage in John Martin Reservoir, the
benefits can pass upstream in Water Districts 14 and 17. Table 9 shows the amounts ofthis
discharge during water years 1980-94. These discharges averaged approximately 12 cfs on
a year-round basis, but were frequently sufficient during the late summer to fully satisfy the
Lamar Canal's first priority.

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