Canon City Daily Record, DISTRICT COURT, WATER DIVISION NO. 2, COLORADO TO: ALL INTERESTED PARTIES Pursuant to C.R.S. 37-92-302, you are hereby notified that the following case is a portion of the resume of applications and amendments filed and/or ordered published during the month of December 2014, in Water Division No. 2. The Water Judge ordered this case be published in the Canon City Daily Record in Fremont County, Colorado. The name(s) and address(es) of applicant(s), description of water rights or conditional water rights and description of ruling sought as reflected by said application, or amendment, are as follows. -------------- CASE NO. 2012CW125 -UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, Bureau of Land Management, Royal Gorge Field Office, 3028 E. Main Street, Canon City, CO 81212 AND PARK CENTER WATER DISTRICT, P. O. Box 1406, 1660 Reservoir Road, Canon City, CO 81215 (Please address all correspondence and pleadings to Applicants' counsel: Kristen C. Guerriero, Attorney for United States of America, Office of the Regional Solicitor, 755 Parfet Street, Suite 151, Lakewood, CO 80215; (303) 231-5353, x552 AND Larry Dean Allen, Attorney for Park Center Water District, P. O. Box 166, Canon City, CO 81215-0166; (719) 275-7593) Amended Application for Plan of Augmentation FREMONT AND CUSTER COUNTIES General Application Description: The Park Center Well is an artesian well located north of Canon City adjacent to Fourmile Creek. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) leases water produced from the well to the Park Center Water District (District). The District treats the water and distributes it to customers in a service area located north of Canon City. The BLM operates the Park Center Well pursuant to the water court decree in case number 97 CW 169. The decree authorizes diversions of up to 227 acre feet annually for domestic, municipal, irrigation, and augmentation purposes. The decree specifies that the first 227 acre feet diverted annually from the well is non-tributary, but makes no findings with regard to diversions in excess of 227 acre feet. Drought conditions have severely limited alternative water supplies available to the District. Accordingly, the District seeks to divert volumes from the well that are in excess of the 227 acre-foot annual limit specified in case number 97 CW 169. The District believes that diversions in excess of 227 acre feet could continue beyond 2014 if drought conditions continue. The Park Center Well has also developed leaks around its aging casing. These leaks flow to the ground surface and then into Fourmile Creek, which is immediately adjacent to the well. In addition, the BLM has implemented additional diversions from the well in order to reduce the pressure on the deteriorating well casing. The leaks, along with diversions to reduce well pressures, will result in additional diversions from the well that may exceed the 227 acre-foot limit. The BLM has initiated a long-term process to replace the existing well and ultimately plug and abandon the existing well. The BLM anticipates that beneficial usage from the existing well by the Park Center District will continue through 2015 as this replacement project is implemented. In addition, BLM anticipates that leakage and diversions to reduce well pressure will also continue through 2015. The BLM seeks to make beneficial use of the additional diversions and leakage from the well until the leakage is stopped. The Division 2 Engineer has formally notified BLM that the Colorado Division of Water Resources believes diversions from the well in excess of 227 acre feet annually are tributary to the Arkansas River. He has also informed BLM that a substitute water supply plan must be obtained to implement diversion and beneficial use beyond the 227 acre feet limit. Accordingly, this application for a plan of augmentation is accompanied by an application to the Colorado Division of Water Resources for a temporary substitute water supply plan (SWSP) pursuant to C.R.S. 37-92-308(4). A copy of the SWSP application is available upon request. Structures To Be Augmented: Park Center Well Location: SW 1/4 SW 1/4, Section 34, T17S R70W, Sixth P.M., 818 feet from the south section line and 1,052 feet from the west section line. 481270mE 4263663mN, Zone 13, NAD83. Well Permit Numbers: 76841-F, 76824-F Well Depth: 2,786 feet Source: Fountain Formation Maximum Diversion Rate Authorized: 2.67 cfs Proposed Withdrawal Amount: 770 acre feet annually Beneficial Use: The proposed withdrawal amount will be routed and beneficially used via two alternative methods. Under the first routing method, diversions will be made to the Park Center District water treatment plant and distributed to customers within the District for domestic, municipal and irrigation uses. Any portions of the amount withdrawn that are in excess of the volume needed to meet Park Center District's water demands will be routed to the Canon Heights Ditch. Water routed to the Canon Heights Ditch is comprised exclusively of additional diversions that are designed to reduce wellhead pressures. The applicants in this case do not claim to capture and subsequently use any water that is released to the Canon Heights Ditch for the temporary purpose of reducing pressures at the well head. Rather, that water becomes temporarily available to shareholders in the ditch for irrigation and livestock watering purposes. The second routing method is to divert leakage from the Park Center Well directly to Fourmile Creek, which runs adjacent to the well. This water will be captured for subsequent use by employing one of two alternative methods. The first method will entail releasing water to Fourmile Creek and then capturing the water in BLM's "if and when" storage account at Pueblo Reservoir. This method will be implemented only when a live stream exists on Fourmile Creek between the Park Center Well and the confluence with the Arkansas River. Water captured and stored at Pueblo Reservoir will be subsequently exchanged and/or traded upstream to BLM's storage account at Deweese Reservoir on Grape Creek. Water that is stored at either Deweese Reservoir or Pueblo Reservoir will then be released for municipal, domestic, irrigation, and augmentation uses, as specified in the decree for the Park Center Well. Places of Water Storage and Water Use for Water Diverted From Park Center Well: Park Center Water District - The service area of the District is located within Sections 8, 9, 10, 15, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, and 23 in T18S R70W, Sixth P.M. Pueblo Reservoir - An on-channel reservoir formed by the intersection of Pueblo Dam and the Arkansas River at a point whence the Northeast corner of Section 36, T20S R66W, Sixth P.M. bear North 61 degrees 21' 20" East a distance of 2,511.05 feet. Deweese Reservoir - The reservoir is located within Section 19, 20, 29, and 30 of T21S R72W, Sixth P.M. Deweese Reservoir Service Area - The service area for the Deweese-Dye Ditch and Reservoir Company is located within Sections 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, and 11, T19S R70W, Sixth P.M. Water Source To Be Used For Augmentation Purposes: Augmentation water will consist of two alternative water sources: A. Park Center Water District owns 639 shares out of a total 3,290 shares in the Canon Heights Irrigation and Reservoir Company, which diverts water from Fourmile Creek via the Canon Heights Ditch. In addition, the Park Center Water District has options to purchase an additional 505 shares in the Canon Heights Irrigation and Reservoir Company. The Canon Heights Ditch diverts from Fourmile Creek at a point located within the SW/4 NW/4, Section 34, T17S R70W, Sixth P.M. The water available to shareholders within the Ditch is derived from more than 60 different water rights. A structure summary for the Canon Heights Ditch that lists all of these water rights is attached to the Amended Application as Exhibit A. (All exhibits mentioned herein are incorporated by reference and may be inspected at the office of the clerk of this Court.) A portion of the yield available to Park Center Water District through these shares will be made available for augmentation via either of two methods: Water will be exchanged directly from the headgate of the Canon Heights Ditch to Mt. Pisgah Reservoir; or Return flow credits attributable to the Canon Heights Ditch shares owned by the Park Center District will accrue via groundwater return flows to Fourmile Creek and or via discharges of treated wastewater at the Fremont County Sanitation District Wastewater Treatment Plant outfall. These credits will be allowed to flow downstream and then captured in an "if and when" account owned by Park Center Water District at Pueblo Reservoir. Water captured in Pueblo Reservoir will then be exchanged to Mt. Pisgah Reservoir. The dam that creates Mt. Pisgah Reservoir is located across the natural stream bed of Four Mile Creek situated in the E 1/2 NW 1/4 of Section 31, T14S R70W, Sixth P.M. Water captured at Mt. Pisgah Reservoir via one of the two methods described above will then be released to Fourmile Creek upstream of the contact with the Fountain Formation on said creek. B. Non-tributary water, diverted at Park Center Well pursuant to the decree in case number 97 CW 169, and then released into Fourmile Creek. These diversions will be made available for augmentation purposes via either of two methods: Water will be released directly to Fourmile Creek to replace depletions; or Water will be released to Fourmile Creek, allowed to flow downstream, and then captured in an "if and when" account owned by the BLM at Pueblo Reservoir. Water captured in Pueblo Reservoir will then be exchanged to Mt. Pisgah Reservoir. Calculation of Depletions Associated With Well Operations: As stated in the introduction, the Applicants assert that the Park Center Well is non-tributary, pursuant to the decree in case number 97 CW 169. However, to comply with the administrative requirement that a substitute water supply be filed, the Applicants have performed a Glover analysis, using aquifer parameters and geometry supplied by the Colorado Division of Water Resources. The preliminary Glover analysis submitted with the substitute water supply plan application showed that estimated depletions are very close to the statutory threshold used to define nontributary groundwater in C.R.S. 37-90-103 (10.5): "deplete the flow of a natural stream <$> at an annual rate greater than one-tenth of one percent of the annual rate of withdrawal." Operation of Plan of Augmentation. Measurement of Diversions. Diversions from the Park Center Well will be measured in two locations. Diversions routed to the District for municipal use and diversions designed to reduce wellhead pressure will be measured by existing Parshall flumes located at the end of the water delivery pipeline from the Park Center Well to the District's water storage reservoir. These flumes measure water deliveries to Park Center District's Ott Reservoir and to the Canon Heights Ditch. Diversions to Fourmile Creek will be measured by an existing measurement station installed by the BLM adjacent to Fourmile Creek. Replacement Water Deliveries. During the year in which the delayed stream depletions occur, the Applicants will release water from Mt. Pisgah Reservoir or from the Park Center Well. The volume of water to be released will be the cumulative total of depletions caused by each year that this augmentation plan is operated. At the end of each year of operation, the applicant will provide a report to the Division Engineer showing total diversions in that year and depletions caused by those diversions. Augmentation water releases will be made at rate and timing specified by the Division Engineer. Transit Losses. Transit losses will be assessed on any replacement water released from Mt. Pisgah Reservoir at the rate prescribed by the Division of Water Resources. Additional releases will be made to make up any transit losses between Mt. Pisgah Reservoir and the outcrop of the Fountain Formation, which is a distance of approximately 22.3 miles. Accounting. An accounting report will be submitted to the Division Engineer no later than February 15 annually. The report will contain monthly summaries of the volumes diverted from the Park Center Well to the Park Center District, Canon Heights Ditch, and Fourmile Creek, and will calculate the actual volume of diversions that exceed that 227 acre foot annual diversion limit authorized in case number 97 CW 169. The report will also contain a follow-up Glover analysis, using the actual diversions from each year, specifying the actual depletion volumes and dates on which depletions will occur. During years in which replacement releases are made, an accounting report will be provided to the Division Engineer specifying the location, timing, rate, and volume of replacement water releases. Appropriative Rights of Substitution and Exchange. In order to operate the proposed plan of augmentation, exchanges will be necessary to move water from the augmentation water sources to Mt. Pisgah Reservoir for subsequent release. The following exchanges are claimed: Legal description of the structures from which substitute water supplies will be released (exchange from points): 1. Canon Heights Ditch Headgate. SW/4 NW/4, Section 34, T17S R70W, Sixth P.M., 3,680 feet north and 230 feet east from the southwest corner of said section. 2. Park Center Well. SW 1/4 SW 1/4, Section 34, T17S R70W, Sixth P.M., 713 feet from the south section line and 1,080 feet from the west section line. 481280mE 4263631mN, Zone 13, NAD83. 3. Pueblo Reservoir. Pueblo Reservoir is an on-channel reservoir formed by the intersection of Pueblo Dam and the Arkansas River at a point whence the Northeast corner of Section 36, T20S R66W, Sixth P.M. bear North 61 degrees 21' 20" East a distance of 2,511.05 feet. Legal descriptions of the structures where water will be stored by exchange for subsequent release for augmentation purposes (exchange to points): Mt. Pisgah Reservoir . A dam across the natural stream bed of Four Mile Creek situated in the E 1/2 NW 1/4 of Section 31, T14S R70W, Sixth P.M. Exchange Reaches. The claimed exchange reaches are from the structures described in Section 10.A to the structures described in Section 10.B. Date of initiation of appropriation for the proposed exchanges: December 31, 2014. How appropriation was initiated: By formation of the intent to appropriate this right of exchange, by management direction from Park Center District and the BLM to file this application, by filing of the Application, and by public notice of the Application. Date water applied to beneficial use: Not applicable - conditional. Physical Exchange Rate Claimed: (1) From Canon Heights Ditch: 5.78 cfs, conditional. This rate is based on the maximum diversion rate associated with the shares owned by the Park Center Water District in the Canon Heights Irrigation and Reservoir Company, multiplied by 50% to adjust for the portion of the shares that were historically consumed. (2) From Park Center Well: 2.67 cfs, conditional. This rate is based upon the maximum diversion rate decreed for the Park Center Well in case number 97 CW 169, Water Division 2. (3) From Pueblo Reservoir: 10.0 cfs, conditional. This rate is based upon the rate necessary to exchange 20 acre feet to Mt. Pisgah during one calendar day. Twenty acre feet is sufficient to replace multiple years of depletions under the proposed plan. Names and addresses of owners of land on which points of diversion, places of use, and structures referenced in this application are located: United States of America - Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Royal Gorge Field Office, 3028 E. Main St., Canon City, CO 81212. Park Center Water District, P.O. Box 1406, 1660 Reservoir Road, Canon City, CO 81215. The Deweese-Dye Ditch and Reservoir Company, Inc., 1411 Walnut Street, Canon City, CO 81212. United States Bureau of Reclamation, Eastern Colorado Projects Office, 11056 West County Road 18E, Loveland, CO 80537. Canon Heights Irrigation and Reservoir Company, P.O. Box 1456, Canon City, CO 81215-1456. Catlin Canal Company, 917 Elm Ave., P.O. Box 52, Rocky Ford, CO 81067. Previously filed Statements of Opposition to the original December 31, 2012 Plan of Augmentation Application are continuing and shall apply to this amended application. ------------- THE WATER RIGHTS CLAIMED BY THE FOREGOING APPLICATION(S) MAY AFFECT IN PRIORITY ANY WATER RIGHTS CLAIMED OR HERETOFORE ADJUDICATED WITHIN THIS DIVISION AND OWNERS OF AFFECTED RIGHTS MUST APPEAR TO OBJECT AND PROTEST WITHIN THE TIME PROVIDED BY STATUTE, OR BE FOREVER BARRED. YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that any party who wishes to oppose an application, or application as amended, may file with the Water Clerk a verified statement of opposition setting forth facts as to why the application should not be granted, or why it should be granted only in part or on certain conditions, such statement of opposition must be filed by the last day of February 2015, (forms available at Clerk's office or at www.courts.state.co.us , must be submitted in quadruplicate, after serving parties and attaching a certificate of mailing, filing fee $158.00). The foregoing are resumes and the entire application, amendments, exhibits, maps and any other attachments filed in each case may be examined in the office of the Clerk for Water Division No. 2, at the address shown below. ------------- Witness my hand and the seal of this Court this 8th day of January, 2015. /s/ Mardell R. DiDomenico Mardell R. DiDomenico, Clerk District Court Water Div. 2 501 N. Elizabeth St., Suite 116 Pueblo, CO 81003 (719) 404-8832 (Court seal) Published: Canon City Daily Record Jan. 16, 2015-5637778
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