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<br />water and by precipitation.
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<br />pumped. evaporated, or transpired ultimately seeps to the
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<br />The amount of water that now returns to the river has
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<br />been diminished because of large-scale development of
<br />irrigation wells. Most of the wells have been drilled
<br />since World War II, and their number has more than doubled
<br />in the past 10 years. There are about 1,460 large-capacity
<br />irrigation wells pumping in the Arkansas Valley. The amount
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<br />of ground water pumped in 1950 was about te;gOO acre-feet.
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<br />In 1964 ~.. -08 acre-feet was pumped.
<br />A pilot study of a short reach of the Arkansas River
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<br />between La JUnta and Las Animas has shown that an increased
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<br />use of the ground-water reservoir has been a major factor
<br />in the reduction of return flow to the river. The records
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<br />to 1960 were analyzed. This figure (fig. 2) is a graphic
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<br />representation of the trends of ground-water pumpage,
<br />phreatophyte use, and surface-water return flow.
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<br />Figure 2. Graphic representation of ground-water pumpage.
<br />phreatophyte use, and surface-water return flow (La Junta
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