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<br />Through the years, the area of land irrigated in the Arkansas Valley has <br />remained relatively stable at about 4l5,000 acres (U.S. Bureau of Reclamation~ <br />1969), but the seasonal water supply to this area is subject to considerable <br />fluctuations. Waters of the Arkansas River and its tributaries, and water <br />imported into the basin, are used and reused throughout the area. <br /> <br />Storage reservoirs are used throughout the basin. In the upstream <br />reaches of the Arkansas River, and on all of its tributaries, the general <br />practice is for the storage rights and the junior direct-flow rights to store <br />or irrigate very early in the season, later to be called out by senior rights. <br />The river call on the tributaries usually is much senior to the call on the <br />main stem during irrigation seasons of average or low flow. <br /> <br />Arkansas River <br /> <br />The major irrigation systems along the Arkansas River will be described <br />in this section. The Arkansas River is in Water Districts ll, l2, l4, l7, and <br />67 (pl. l). A schematic diagram of the major irrigation systems along the <br />river is given on plate 3 (in the pocket), and the major water rights are <br />listed in plate 4 (in the pocket). The active ditches and major ditches on <br />the Arkansas River tributaries are listed in table 5 in the Supplemental Data <br />section at the end of the report. <br /> <br />Water from most of the ditches in Water District II (Lake and Chaffee <br />Counties) and Water District 12, upstream from the Royal Gorge, is used to <br />irrigate alfalfa, hay, or irrigated pasture. In the Canon City area, the <br />South Canon Ditch diverts water from the south bank just upstream from Grape <br />Creek. This ditch, which splits within the limits of Canon City and becomes <br />the Pump Ditch and the Crooked Ditch, irrigates about l,280 acres in and near <br />the south side of Canon City. The Canon City Hydraulic Ditch diverts from the <br />north bank just upstream from the streamflow-gaging station 07096000 Arkansas <br />River at Canon City, flows through the grounds of the Colorado State Peniten- <br />tiary, and on through Canon City. The Fruitland Ditch is supplied from the <br />Canon City Hydraulic Ditch via a buried conduit within Canon City. The <br />Grandview Ditch diverts from the Canon City Hydraulic Ditch at a point just <br />before that ditch wastes into Fourmile Creek near the east edge of town. The <br />Grandview Ditch crosses under U.s. Highway 50 and Fourmile Creek in a buried <br />conduit, and irrigates lands on the State prison farm. In the past, the <br />Fruitland Ditch was diverted, along with Canon City's municipal water, in <br />another ditch, the Canon City Aqueduct. Canon City has abandoned that aque- <br />duct, and now diverts from a new diversion dam in the river, about 3 miles <br />downstream from the old diversion point. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />The Canon City and Oil Creek (Mill) Ditch diverts from the north bank <br />just downstream from the Canon City's diversion dam and irrigates about <br />l,250 acres near the east edge of town. This ditch also receives discharge <br />from the Southern Colorado Power Company's powerplant; the outflow is charged <br />against the Canon City and Oil Creek Ditch's water right. <br /> <br />The Fremont County Ditch diverts from the right bank, midway between <br />Canon City and Florence, irrigating about 425 acres of flood plain. The Union . <br />Canal is diverted with the Minnequa Canal and is bifurcated from that canal o~ <br /> <br />32 <br />