WSP03823

• File Number: 8135.300
• Description: Ditch Companies - Catlin
• State: CO
• Basin: Arkansas
• Water Division: 2
• Date: 1/29/1976
• Author: D Helton R McCabe
• Title: Catlin Transfer Plan and John Martin Permanent Pool Operation
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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0669

CATLIN CANAL SYSTEM

The Catlin Canal Company diverts water from the Arkansas
River (Figure 1) near the community of Manzanola, approxi-
mately 84 miles upstream of John Martin Dam. The company
has three decreed water rights: 22 cfs as of April 10, 1875;
226 cfs as of December 3, 1884; and 97 cfs as of November 14,
1887. Because of a December 27, 1901 agreement with the Fort
Lyon Canal Company and the Las Animas Consolidated Canal
Company, these three water rights were considered as two
248 cfs with a priority of December 3, 1884, and 97 cfs with
a priority of November 14, 1887. There are 18,660 shares of
capital stock in the company, and the State owns 2,097.58
shares or 11.24 percent of the total. Each share is supposed
to irrigate one acre; however, a land classification performed
by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) in 1963 showed that
19,329 acres were irrigated under the canal at that time.

Monthly headgate diversions under these direct flow water
rights were obtained from the water Commissioner's field books
for compact years 1949-73 and are shown on Table 2. Irriga-
tion season diversions (April through October) have averaged
61,500 acre-feet or about 3.30 acre-feet per share, but they
have ranged from a low of 26,300 acre-feet or 1.41 acre-feet
per share in 1954 to a high of 86,200 acre-feet or 4.62 acre-
feet per share in 1970. Diversions during the non-irrigation
seasons (November through March) of compact years 1949-73 have
averaged 21,500 acre-feet.

Normally, the Catlin is only able to divert water under its
more senior priority. A cumulative frequency analysis (Figure 2)
performed on daily headgate diversions during the irrigation
seasons of compact years 1949-73 showed that water was diverted
under the junior priority during only 15 percent of the days.

To supplement the water available from its direct flow water
rights, the Catlin Canal company owns a water right for trans-
mountain diversions by the Larkspur Ditch in water District 28
and six-sevenths of the water stored in Mt. Pisgah Reservoir
(sometimes referred to as wrights Reservoir) in Water District
12. During some irrigation seasons, additional water is still
required, and reservoir water is purchased from other sources.

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