Laserfiche WebLink
Mr. Jared Dains May 17, 2011 <br />Middle Poudre Combined Plan - Lafarge West, Inc. Page 5 of 9 <br />Lafarge also owns 1 share of 3.5 shares historically utilized for the irrigation of the Robert <br />Weitzel Farm (145 acres) and another 2 shares of 5 shares historically used for the irrigation of the <br />Louis Swift Farm. The Robert Weitzel Farm is no longer irrigated due to the mining at the Weitzel Pit <br />and the adjacent Stute Pit operated by Connell Resource, Inc. The dry-up acreage claimed for Lafarge's <br />1 share would be 41.4 acres of the 145 acres historically irrigated on the Robert Weitzel Farm. The <br />Robert Weitzel Farm property is no longer irrigated and includes the 66.7 acres-of ground water lakes at <br />the Weitzel Pit site. The historical consumptive use credit of 1 Box Elder Ditch share associated with the <br />Weitzel Farm was determined to be 43.8 acre-feet. This is based on a historical consumptive use <br />analysis that was completed in support of an application for an augmentation plan pending in case no. <br />.2002CW205. The historical consumptive use credit of the 2 Box Elder Ditch shares associated with the <br />Swift Farm was determined to be 101.1 acre-feet based on the historical consumptive use analysis in <br />case no. 94CW015. As described in 94CW015, the Swift Farm is no longer irrigated and the decree <br />references 70 acres of dry-up associated with the 2 shares. The total consumptive use credit available <br />from the 8.5 Box Elder Ditch shares is 426.26 acre-feet. <br />The attached Table 3 shows the farm headgate delivery of the 8.5 Box Elder Ditch shares. <br />Lafarge plans to divert the full farm headgate delivery of 756.90 acre-feet into the recharge site. A total <br />of 532.76 acre-feet were diverted into the recharge site between May 18 and October 31, 2010. The <br />2010 depletions not covered by recharge were replaced by leases with the City of Greeley ("Greeley") <br />and Platte River Power Authority. A copy of the 2010 amended lease with the Platte River Power <br />Authority was submitted to this office with this plan request. A copy of the Greeley lease was submitted <br />with the previous plan. Lafarge will divert the full farm headgate delivery of the 8.5 Box Elder Ditch <br />shares starting in April 2011. Accordingly, the monthly timing of 756.90 acre-feet (full farm headgate <br />delivery of the 8.5 shares) was used in the recharge model to determine the recharge accretion credits <br />for 2011. The recharge model uses the following parameters: transmissivity (T)=45,000 gallons/day/foot, <br />the distance of centroid of the recharge pit to the.Cache La Poudre River (X)=1,600 feet, the distance for <br />the parallel impermeable boundary to the Cache La Poudre River (W)=5,000 feet, and the specific yield <br />(S)=0.2. The lagged accretions to the Cache la Poudre River are estimated to total 786.92 acre-feet for <br />this approval period (includes carry over from recharge in previous years). <br />The Three Bells site was continuously dewatered at a rate of 1,200 gallons per minute. The <br />timing of the lagged depletions from the dewatering operation was determined through a stream <br />depletion model for the Three Bells Pit. In the previous SWSP, the model addressed the lagged <br />depletions at the East Rigden Pit, Kyger Pit, Port of Entry Pit, Weitzel Pit, and Shield Mine by accounting <br />for the net accretion credits at the river that occur due to the dewatering operation at the Three Bells Pit. <br />The stream depletion model for the Three Bells site shows that the dewatering at this site has reached <br />steady-state equilibrium and therefore no credit from dewatering at the Three Bells sites is claimed in <br />this SWSP. <br />-- During the Water Year 2011, a lease from the City of Greeley ("Greeley") will make replacements <br />for depletions not covered by the recharge program. A lease of 8.20 acre-feet of fully consumable water <br />from Greeley will make replacements in March, April and May 2011. Lafarge West, Inc. ("Lafarge") <br />traded their 550 shares of the Boyd and Freeman Ditch with Greeley for a perpetual lease of 125 acre- <br />feet per year. The 35th Avenue Pit SWSP (WDID 0302546) approved on November 23, 2010 is using <br />116.80 acre-feet under the trade agreement. The remaining water will be used under this SWSP to <br />cover the replacement for depletions in March, April and May 2011. <br />Also, during 2011, a lease from the LCRC will make replacements for depletions not covered by <br />the recharge program. A lease of 12.20 acre-feet of fully consumable water from LCRC will make <br />replacements for May 2011. A copy of the LCRC lease was submitted to this office on May 11, 2011 and