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Case No. 09CWI05 <br /> Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, <br /> Judgment and Decree <br /> Page 19 of 28 <br /> completed gravel pits shall occur to limit the total exposed surface area of unlined gravel <br /> pits at the Walters and Bokelman Pits site and the Green and Croissant Pits site and the <br /> stock ponds to 65 acres. Total net evaporation at the Gravel Pits and gross evaporation at <br /> the stock ponds will-consume-1 66 acre-feet per year. <br /> 35.2.1 Depletions caused by the gross evaporation from the Gravel Pits and <br /> stock ponds were estimated using the gross lake evaporation rates obtained from <br /> the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Evaporation Atlas (NOAA <br /> Technical Report NWS 33), which averages 3.35 acre-feet per acre per year. <br /> 35.2.2 Historical natural depletions occurred due to consumption by grasses <br /> and irrigated crops, and natural non-irrigated vegetation on the land which is now, <br /> or will be, permanently replaced by an open water surface at the Gravel Pits. The <br /> historical natural depletions associated with the lands covered by irrigated crops is <br /> equal to the effective precipitation for irrigated land, which is equal to 70% of total <br /> precipitation. <br /> 35.2.3 As of the date of this decree there are three stock ponds at the Green <br /> and Croissant Pits Site with 6.3 acres of ground water surface area exposed to the <br /> atmosphere resulting in gross evaporative depletions averaging 21.11 acre-feet per <br /> year. In the event LRM eliminates one or more stock ponds in the future, LRM <br /> shall notify the Division Engineer and the parties and LRM shall modify the <br /> accounting to revise the calculation of evaporative depletions. Gross evaporative <br /> stock pond depletions shall be lagged to the Big Thompson River with the net <br /> evaporative depletions for the Green and Croissant Pits pursuant to Paragraph 36.1. <br /> 35.3 Walters and Bokelman.Pits Evaporation. Upon completion of mining, up to <br /> 11.5 acres of ground water surface area will be exposed to the atmosphere by mining the <br /> unlined gravel pit at the Walters and Bokelman Pits site resulting in net evaporation <br /> averaging 28.37 acre-feet per year(gross evaporation less historical natural depletions). <br /> 35.4 Green and Croissant Pits Evaporation. Upon completion of mining, up to <br /> 47.2 acres of ground water surface area will be exposed to the atmosphere by mining the <br /> unlined gravel pits at the Green and Croissant Pits site resulting in net evaporation <br /> averaging 116.44 acre-feet per yyar(gross evaporation less historical natural depletions). <br /> 35.5 Additional uses: irrigation, piscatorial, fishing, fish culture and <br /> propagation, stock watering, wildlife, aesthetic, recreation, and fire protection uses. <br /> Irrigation consists of agricultural irrigation, which continues on portions of the sites as <br /> mining expands, and irrigation which may be part of the reclamation_plans. Up to 100 <br /> acres of irrigation at the Walters and Bokelman Pits site and the Green and Croissant Pits <br /> site will result in an augmentation require#nent of up-to 170.79 acre-feet per year. LRM is <br /> not precluded from amending this plan for augmentation to seek credit for the irrigation <br /> s <br />