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• • Ji9n?~ce ~ec keY~ III IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII sss 21710 Highway 550 South Montrose, CO 81401 July 25, 2001 State of Colorado -Attn: Bob Oswald ~EC~O~~wy Division of Minerals and Geology A(/G Durango Field Office Dirsin° ?9 ?~~1 Department of Natural Resources °~M~°ere~se°~ 701 Camino Del Rio, Room 125 ~°°~Uur Durango, CO 81301 t,~l,t`E~ r,f=1n-I~,E PUBS !~ I-ILE `e~~~ FILE: i~~1994--ao~ SITE; Co lo,,,~, Pt,r- GO VrQ-S I10 ~,cP.Q.~,~,p,~ R~eived AUK 2 3 ?Opl RE:COLONAPTf ~-1994-pbs- ly8q' ~ Deaz Mr. Oswald: L7 b~ o Mine ~~8 Ga e- This letter is response to your inspection of and letter regarding United Companies of Mesa County's Colons Pit Problems/Possible Violations and Corrective Actions #2: There DOES exist continuing and future problems with the rerouting of Ouray Ditch Company's irrigation ditches by said company. Our headgate was removed without our prior knowledge and/or approval The headgate's function was to regulate the correct amount of adjudicated water downstream Now we have no way to regulate water flowing through these downstream properties. The AMOUNT of water running in the ditches since your inspection still is only approximately 1/3 of the amount available based on personal knowledge of having owned and irrigated this property since 1980. Water was not made available until far after the rum on date in April resuhing in dried up pastureland and damage to small orchard. Once the limited amount of water finally came trickling through, it was an uphill battle to bring back growth. The neighbor to the north was unable to water his fields until mid- June. It is our understanding that the company was to have installed an OPERATIONAL AND SUFFICIENT siphoning system that would reroute our water along Highway 550, turn east paralleling the water user's ]ante (which is also the access road for four houses) and connect in with the ditch on our side of that lane so these four properties to the north are ensured water once the daylighting is started. Without the siphon, there will be no water at all to which we are legally entitled. The State of Colorado needs to enforce the agreement signed by United Companies that we WILL have our adjudicated "correct" amount of water now and in the future once their operations cease. If this is not corrected at this time (and it has been neglected for the past seven years of their operation), we are feazful that it will not come to pass. The key words again are OPERATIONAL and SUFFICIENT - when a siphoning system is installed to meet the letter of the law, we need to witness and test out that system while the state still has enforcement of this issue.