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<br />l~ <br /> <br />Tailwater from the Fort Lyon Canal either can flow directly into the <br />2,500-acre-foot Thurston Reservoir, or can collect in an unnamed reservoir at <br />the end of the canal. From Thurston Reservoir, an exchange is possible with <br />the Amity. Canal, through the West May Valley Drainage Ditch. The Fort Lyons <br />Canal is divided into five divisions; each division receives irrigation water <br />in turn. The Fort Lyon Canal receives a share of the Amity Canal's Great <br />Plains water, as part of the arrangement whereby the Fort Lyon Canal is used <br />to deliver water to the Kicking Bird Canal. Water from the Fort Lyon Canal <br />irrigates about 91,300 acres in Crowley, Bent, and Prowers Counties. <br /> <br />The Las Animas Consolidated Canal diverts from the south side of the <br />river, about 8 miles upstream from Las Animas. The Las Animas Consolidated <br />Canal becomes the Las Animas Consolidated Extension, a ditch on the east side <br />of the Purgatoire River. Water can be delivered from the Highland Ditch, <br />which diverts from the Purgatoire River upstream from Las Animas into the Las <br />Animas Consolidated Canal. The combined acreage irrigated by this system is <br />about 6,950 acres, with 2,300 of these acres irrigated by the Las Animas Con- <br />solidated Extension. The headgate of the Las Animas Town Ditch was 4 miles <br />downstream from the Consolidated Canal before the 1965 flood; water rights <br />were transferred to Las Animas Consolidated Canal in March 1966. In April <br />1972, the Las Animas Town Ditch water rights were acquired by the Highline <br />Canal, and were transferred to the Highline Canal headgate. <br /> <br />All of the canal and ditch systems on the Arkansas River downstream from <br />John Martin Reservoir are in Water District 67; all these systems participate <br />in the Arkansas River Compact. These systems, and systems in Kansas, store <br />winter and excess streamflows in John Hartin Reservoir for later use. <br /> <br />The Fort Bent Canal and the Keese ditch share a common diversion dam on <br />the south bank about 4~ miles downstream from John Martin Dam. The Keese <br />ditch diverts out of the Fort Bent Canal, just downcanal from the headgate, <br />irrigating the flood plain west of Lamar. The Fort Bent Canal flows through <br />the city of Lamar, and irrigates lands both west and east of town. Water also <br />is conveyed in the Fort Bent Canal to recharge the city of Lamar's well field <br />in Clay Creek. The combined area irrigated by the Fort Bent Canal and the <br />Keese ditch is 8,740 acres. <br /> <br />The Amity Canal diverts from the north bank about 8 miles downstream from <br />John Martin Dam and irrigates about 37,800 acres. The Great Plains Reservoirs <br />[the Nee So Pah (Black Water), the Nee No She (Standing Water), the Nee Gronda <br />(Big Water), and the Nee Skah (Queens) Reservoirs] are a part of the Amity <br />system. They have a total capacity of 265,552 acre-feet and are connected to <br />the Amity Canal by the Comanche Canal. These reservoirs are broad, shallow <br />lakes, and the surface-area-to-capacity ratio allows significant evaporation. <br />A large, dead-storage pool in the system permits considerably more stored <br />water than can be withdrawn; therefore, storage for the Amity Canal is in John <br />Martin Reservoir, instead of in the Great Plains Reservoirs whenever possible. <br /> <br />The Lamar Canal diverts from the south bank, just at the west edge of <br />Lamar, irrigating about 8,700 acres east of town. The city of Lamar power- <br />plant has a battery of wells for cooling water that discharges directly into <br />the Lamar Canal, and this discharge is measured and charged to the Lamar Canal <br />decree. <br /> <br />35 <br /> <br />. <br />, <br />