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',", ; i -79- Reservoir was storing, because.he knew that the Julesburg ~eser- voir would fill later in the year. Ralph OWens and William Mattern stated that it is their ~ practice, in Irrigation Division No.1, to allow each reservoir . . to pick up whatever water is in the river at its intake point ~ during the s~orage season, regardless of priorities. They rely on return flows to fill each successive reservoir downstream. Accord- ing to them this results, with a few exceptions, in each reservoir eventually filling to capacity during the storage season. Where there are exceptions, they do cut down a few juniors to provide water for senior reservoirs. (Interview, OWens and Mattern, 1/30/67) . Cecil Osborne confirmed this method of filling reservoirs out of priority. Osborne said that during the winter months, the Riverside system is "pretty much in control of the river." He said that the Riverside system allows Barr Lake, which is upstream from them on the South Platte, but which has a junior decree, to fill first, even though the Riverside system could "call the river" and fill its reservoir ahead of Barr Lake. The Riverside people believe that if they do not make a "call" on the river they will , eventually get more benefit from return flow which has been . stored upstream by junior priorities. For this reason, they hesitate to put their "call" on the river even though they cannot quite get their full priorities. During the last few years there has not been enough water downstream from the Riverside to fill . the North Sterling (Point of Rocks) Reservoir storage priority. For that reason, the North Sterling has made a "call" on the river but "the Riverside gets the benefit of this call" since it is WOODWARO.CLYDE.SI-IERARD AND ASSOCIATES