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<br />41 ,. <br /> <br />CO:)l96 <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />average given above, A large proportion of the Schneider Ditch service <br /> <br /> <br />area is also served by irrigation wells. The Schneider Ditch divides into <br /> <br /> <br />two branches, north and south. It is estimated that the north branch <br /> <br /> <br />(nearest the river) loses only 5 to 10 percent of the water carried, <br /> <br /> <br />whereas the south branch loses about 30 percent, <br /> <br />Springdale Ditch. The Springdale Ditch diverts from the river 15.1 <br /> <br /> <br />miles downstream from the Balzac gaging station, and serves about 4,000 <br /> <br /> <br />acres of irrigated land on the north side of the river. The average annual <br /> <br /> <br />diversion by the Springdale Ditch during the l5-year study period was <br /> <br /> <br />5,800 acre-feet, ranging from a minimum of 1,900 acre-feet in 1959 to a <br /> <br />maximum of 9,000 acre-feet in 1948. The Springdale Ditch is a "slow" <br /> <br /> <br />ditch with heavy losses, especially in the lower one half. The delivery <br /> <br /> <br />efficiency is probably about 55 to 60 percent because of large seepage <br /> <br /> <br />losses. Many wells in the service area of the Springdale Ditch undoubtedly <br /> <br /> <br />benefit from this seepage. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Sterling No. 1 Ditch. The Sterling No. 1 Ditch diverts from the river <br /> <br /> <br />18.1 miles downstream from the Balzac gage and serves about 10,000 acres <br /> <br />of irrigated land on the north side of the river, The average annual diver- <br /> <br /> <br />sion by the Sterling No.1 Ditch during the 15-year study period was 24,900 <br /> <br /> <br />acre-feet. The lowest annual diversion amount was 16,300 acre-feet in 1957 <br /> <br /> <br />and the largest was 32,700 acre-feet in 1954, The ditch diverted only <br /> <br /> <br />14,700 acre-feet of river water during the drought year of 1977, but received <br /> <br />about 4,000 acre-feet of water from wells into the ditch by the Ground Water <br /> <br /> <br />Appropriators of the South Platte (GASP) as replacement of surface-water <br /> <br /> <br />depletions caused by ground-water pumping, The delivery efficiency of the <br /> <br /> <br />Sterling No.1 Ditch is estimated to be about 70 percent, with especially <br /> <br /> <br />high seepage losses occurring from the ditch northwest of Sterling. Although <br /> <br /> <br />the Sterling No. 1 Ditch service area overlies areas of significant saturated <br /> <br />thickness of the alluvium, stockholders of the company have only a few irri- <br /> <br /> <br />gation wells--principally because of the senior surface-water rights, <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Sterling No. 2 Ditch. The Sterling No, 2 Ditch diverts from the river <br /> <br /> <br />21.5 miles downstream from the Balzac gaging station and irrigates 1,000 to <br /> <br />1,200 acres on the north side of the river, all of which is within a mile <br /> <br /> <br />of the river. The average annual diversion of river water by the Sterling <br /> <br />-39- <br />