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CJ:: 00 ...- , . - WATER SUPPLY c Irri~ation ReqUirements The average annual consumptive use of water for the area, b&sed on temperatures du:t'ing the growing sf?ason, is estimated to be about 2.25 acre-feet per irrigated acre; A!l:justments for rainfall, deep percol~ ation,', conveyance losses, and other factors result in an average annual diversion requirement, with efficient use of water, of a.bout 2.95 acre~ feet per acre for Colorado lands and 4.33 acre~feet per acre for New Mexic.o lands. With full use of return flow below State Line Rese:t'Voi:t', the diversion requirement for New Mexico land can be filled by the r<;>~_ lease from the reservoir of 3.50 acre-feet per acre. Diversion requirements for Colorado lands will vary. The irriga~ tion requirement for lands in the vicinity of Fort Lewis and Thompson Park will be less, because of greater elevation, less heat, and more r!3-infall, than for the Red Mesa area. However, the future irrigated area in the Colorado Division will rest on the desires and practice of the Colorado irrigators who contract for supplemental water, as no definite project area has been delineated. Water Ri~hts The water rights of the Colorado and of the New Mexico ditches have been adjudicated, and the ditches divert water in accordance with local administration in each state. Indian land allotments in the Colorado Division (shown on the general map~' drawing No. 56-D-426) total 3,320 acres, of which 1,220 are classed as irrigable (1941 survey of the Bureau of Reclamation). Approximately 140 acres of the irrigable lands are at present irri~ gated, leaving 1,080 acres which, in the future, may claim La Plata water for irrigation purposes, although they have no irrigation facil- ities, are uncleared, and have never been irrigated. The Indian allot- ments are adjacent to La Plata River, chiefly bordering the Red Mesa area. There are no Indian allotments in La Plata Basin in New Mexico. One small Indian ditch, the Rabbit, is active at the present time, diverting from the La Plata River. Fifty acres of the Indian land allotments are now irrigated, in scattered small tracts, from laterals of private Colorado ditches. The Office of' Indian Affairs is reported to be considering an early adjudication of the inchoate water rights of Indian allotments on La /' Plata River. An adjudication probably will be sought in the Federal courts, since water for Indian lands was reserved by treaty terms between the United States and the Indians. The La Plata River Compact contains no prov~s~on for water for Indian lands. However, the State Engineer ef Colorado has always rec- ognized the diversion of 2 second-feet of water by the Rabbit Ditch, which was operating at the time of the Colorado engineering investi- gations (l9l9-1920) leading up to the compact,. 19 \