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Decree of the Water Court <br />Case No. 03CW8, Water Div. 2 <br />Transit Mix of Pueblo, Inc., et al. <br />Page 10 <br />augmentation uses and requests that the consumptive use credits as determined pursuant to part <br />III of this decree may be used and re-used to extinction. <br />V. Plan for Augmentation. <br />V 24. Commencing in about 1972, the Applicants and their predecessors began gravel <br />mining along the Arkansas River just downstream from Pueblo Reservoir. This resulted in <br />construction of seven pits called the Chain of Lakes which have filled with alluvial ground water. <br />The Chain of Lakes are located in Sections 31, 32 and 33, T. 20 S., R. 65 W., and in Sections 5 <br />and 6, T. 21 S., R. 65 W., 6th P.M., as shown on Exhibit B. The gross surface acreage of the Chain <br />of Lakes is 98.1 acres. Of that amount, 72.7 acres were exposed subsequent to December 31, <br />1981. Average annual evaporation from these 72.7 acres equals 296.7 acre feet. <br />25. Pursuant to C.R.S. 37-92-305(12), Applicants are not required to replace <br />evaporation in an amount equal to the amount of historic natural depletion to the Arkansas River <br />caused by the preexisting natural vegetative cover on the surface of the area which has been <br />permanently replaced by an open water surface. Applicants and the City of Aurora disagree <br />p regarding'the amount of historic natural depletions which occurred from the Chain of Lakes surface <br />area prior to mining. By way of compromise and settlement, Applicants and the City of Aurora have <br />stipulated that the average preexisting historic natural depletions were 152.2 acre feet annually, <br />resulting in a pond replacement requirement of 144.5 acre feet annually. <br />26. Southeastern and Applicants disagree on the legal interpretation of C.R.S. §§ 37-90- <br />137(11), 37-92-501, 34-32-103(9), 37-92-305 and the Supreme Court's holding in Central Colo. <br />Water Conservancy Dist v. Simpson, 877 P.2d 335 (Colo. 1994). Southeastern asserts that to <br />avoid injury to senior water rights, Applicants must replace all out-of-priority depletions from <br />15003 h/transit mix/decree 02-22-09 <br />5 1