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<br />Mr. Hal Simpson <br />State Engineer's Office <br />October 14, 1993 <br />Page 4 <br />The Buffalo Creek Ditch (aka: Buffalo Canal) water is a senior water right <br />with an adjudication date of July 1, 1895 and an appropriation date of <br />January 29, 1685. The ditch is decreed for 67.5 cubic feet per second. <br />Th.e Buffalo Canal is the last water right in Colorado along the Arkansas <br />River that places a call on the river. <br />1. Diversions <br />An evaluation of the diversions by the Buffalo Canal for the period 1976-1990 <br />show the average annual diversion for the ditch is 22,442 acre-feet. Table <br />No. 2 lists the annual diversions as recorded by the State Engineer's Office. <br />The table also lists the annual pro-rated diversions for the 1509 shares <br />owned by Mid-western Resources. The average annual diversion for 1509 shares <br />ie; 7,220 acre-feet. <br />2. Historic Consumptive Use <br />Ttie 111 Mining Permit will consist of a 30 acre area which is currently <br />irrigated property. A total of 31 acres (the 30 acre mining area and some <br />additional land around the perimeter of the permit boundary) will be dried up <br />a:. a result of the mining operation. Alfalfa has been grown on the 31 acres <br />and has been irrigated with the Buffalo Canal. A vicinity map showing the <br />location of the 111 mining permit boundary (dry up area) is attached with <br />this letter. <br />A Blaney Griddle analysis was performed using average temperature and <br />precipitation values for the period 1951-1980 for the site to determine the <br />potential crop consumptive use. The results of the analysis are listed on <br />Table No. 3. The average annual consumptive use for alfalfa for the site is <br />43.23 inches/year and the effective precipitation is 10.96 inches/year. <br />Therefore, the net irrigation requirement is 32.77 inches/year. <br />The farm owner, George Tempel, has indicated the property has sufficient <br />water to meet the full irrigation needs of the crops grown on the Mid-Western <br />Farm property. Therefore, it has been assumed the historic consumptive use <br />i:s equal to the net irrigation requirement of 32.77 inches/year (2.73 <br />ft:/year). <br />Consequently, a dry up of 31 acres will result in an 84.66 acre- foot <br />replacement to the stream. Water resulting from the dry up will be left in <br />the stream system. Please see the attached dry up statement from the <br />psoperty owner, George Tempel, regarding the commitment of this water to <br />augmentation of the gravel pit operation. <br />