DISTRICT COURT, WATER DIVISION 3, STATE OF COLORADO
TO:
ALL PERSONS INTERESTED IN WATER APPLICATIONS FILED IN
WATER DIVISION 3.
Pursuant to C.R.S. 37-92-302(3), you are notified that the following is a resume in
Water Division 3, containing notice of all applications and amended applications or
requests for correction filed in the office of the Water Clerk during the month of August,
2009.
The names and addresses of applicants, description of water rights, or conditional
water rights involved, and description of ruling sought, are as follows:
09CW21 APPLICATION FOR WATER RIGHTS OF THE RIO GRANDE WATER
USERS ASSOCIATION IN ALAMOSA, CONEJOS, COSTILLA, HINSDALE,
MINERAL, RIO GRANDE, SAGUACHE, AND SAN JUAN COUNTIES.
I. Name, mailing address, email address, and home telephone number of
applicant(s): Rio Grande Water Users Association, P.O. Box 288, Monte Vista, CO
81144. (William A. Paddock, Esq. and Beth Ann J. Parsons, Esq., Carlson, Hammond &
Paddock, LLC, 1700 Lincoln St., Suite 3900, Denver, CO 80203-4539, (303) 861-9000.)
II. Name of structure: Closed Basin Project outfall. Type: The appropriative right of
substitution that is the subject of this application operates on the Rio Grande both
upstream and downstream from the Closed Basin Project’s outfall where water is
delivered to the Rio Grande. III. Describe conditional water right: A. Date of
Original Decree: August 12, 1994. Case No. 90CW45. Court: District Court, Water
Division No. 3. B. Subsequent decrees awarding findings of diligence: Case No.
00CW20, entered August 18, 2003, in which this Court held: 1. The RGWUA had
applied 31,198 acre-feet of water to beneficial use under the appropriative right of
substitution during that diligence period. Accordingly, the annual volume decreed
absolute was increased from 16,909 acre-feet to 31,198 acre-feet. The Court held that
the RGWUA had been diligent in its efforts to develop the remaining 75,502 acre-feet
conditional water right. 2. The maximum rate of downstream substitution of water
occurring during that diligence period was 69.6 c.f.s. Accordingly, the downstream
segment substitution rate was increased from 52 c.f.s. to 69.6 c.f.s absolute. This Court
held that the RGWUA had been diligent in its efforts to develop the remaining 208.4 c.f.s
conditional. 3. The maximum rate of upstream diversion of the substituted water
occurring during that diligence period was 269 c.f.s. Accordingly, the upstream segment
flow rate of substitution decreed absolute increased from 52 c.f.s. to 269 c.f.s. This
Court held that the RGWUA had been diligent in its efforts to develop the 2,731 c.f.s.
remaining conditional. IV. Legal description: A. The outfall of the Main Conveyance
Channel of the Closed Basin Project is located on the east side of the Rio Grande in
Alamosa County, at a point whence the northeast corner of Section 16, Township 36
North, Range 11 East, N.M.P.M. bears north 60º east 900 feet. B. The downstream
segment of the substitution operates from the outfall of the Main Conveyance Channel,
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downstream to the Colorado-New Mexico state line as measured by the Rio Grande
Compact gaging station currently located near Lobatos, Colorado. C. The upstream
segment of the substitution operates from outfall of the Main Conveyance Channel
upstream to the headwaters of the Rio Grande in Township 40 North, Range 6 West of
the N.M.P.M, and each of its tributaries except Trinchera Creek, La Jara Creek, and the
Alamosa River. Surface water rights diverting from drains in the Alamosa River and La
Jara Creek basins, which drains normally flow to the Rio Grande, are also entitled to
participate in the appropriative right of substitution. V. Source of water: The structure
providing the substitute water supply is the Closed Basin Project, originally decreed in
this Court’s Case No. W-3038, dated April 21, 1980 for a maximum withdrawal of
117,000 acre-feet, with a total maximum pumping rate of 277 c.f.s. On May 23, 2003, in
Case No. 02CW4, this Court entered a ruling determining that an additional portion of
the conditional water right had been made absolute, making a total of 43,520 acre-feet
absolute. The Court also recognized that the Rio Grande Water Conservation District
voluntarily abandoned 32,000 acre-feet of its conditional water right based upon the
results of hydrologic investigations during that diligence period. The Court continued in
full force and effect the remaining portion of the conditional water right in the amount of
41,480 acre-feet. As a result, the Closed Basin Project water right is decreed for a total
of 85,000 acre-feet per year at a rate of 277 c.f.s; 43,520 acre-feet absolute and 41,480
acre-feet conditional. VI. Appropriation Date: July 31, 1963. VII. Amount: A. As
originally decreed, an average of 36,000 acre-feet per year in any fifteen consecutive
years, with up to 106,700 acre-feet in any one year. 1. Annual volume: 31,198 acrefeet absolute, 75,502 acre-feet conditional; 2. Downstream segment flow rate: 69.6
c.f.s. absolute, 207.4 c.f.s. conditional; and 3. Upstream segment flow rate: 269 c.f.s
absolute, 2,731 c.f.s. conditional. B. The RGWUA’s conditional water right was based
upon the maximum annual use of 106,700 acre-feet of Closed Basin Project Water.
Because this amount now exceeds that total decree for the Closed Basin Project, the
RGWUA hereby voluntarily abandons 32,000 acre-feet annually, or all but 43,502 acrefeet annually, of its remaining conditional water right herein, for a total absolute and
conditional water right of 74,700 acre-feet annually. As a result, the RGWUA seeks a
finding that it has been reasonably diligent in the development of the following
conditional amounts: 1. Annual volume: 43,502 acre-feet conditional; 2. Downstream
segment flow rate: 207.4 c.f.s.; and 3. Upstream segment flow rate: 2,731 c.f.s. C. Use:
The appropriative right of substitution makes water available to surface water rights that
(1) are within both the Rio Grande Water Conservation District and former Water District
20; (2) are decreed pursuant to applications filed prior to February 19, 1985; and (3)
divert water from the Rio Grande and its tributaries (except the Alamosa River, La Jara
Creek, and Trinchera Creek) on which surface water rights are subject to Compact
administration. Surface water rights diverting from drains in the Alamosa River and La
Jara Creek basins, which drains normally flow to the Rio Grande, are also entitled to
participate in the appropriative right of substitution. These water rights are collectively
referred to as the “Benefitted Water Rights.” The particular water rights that are
benefitted depend upon the extent to which the substituted water supply reduces
Compact curtailment on the Rio Grande, the manner of Compact administration by the
state water officials, the then-existing stream flows, and the surface water rights lawfully
entitled to divert as a result of a reduction in Compact curtailment. For general
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reference, the Benefitted Water Rights are included in the State Engineer’s Tabulation of
Water Rights for Water District No. 20, Division 3, prepared pursuant to C.R.S. 37-92401 et seq., which is incorporated herein by this reference. The place of beneficial use
is the land served by the Benefitted Water Rights. A map of the irrigated acreage in the
Rio Grande Basin is attached hereto as Exhibit A. The lands that may receive additional
water for irrigation under this appropriative right of substitution are those served by the
Benefitted Water Rights. VIII. Provide a detailed outline of what has been done
toward completion or for completion of the appropriation and application of water
to a beneficial use as conditionally decreed, including expenditures: A. The
RGWUA worked to exercise the appropriative right of substitution to the greatest extent
feasible under the existing conditions. A representative of the RGWUA participated in
the Allocation Committee meetings where Project production was discussed and
allocated annually between the Rio Grande and Conejos River. The owners of the
Benefitted Water Rights paid property taxes to the Rio Grande Water Conservation
District, local sponsor of the Closed Basin Project. B. The RGWUA Board of Directors
met regularly and discussed with the Division Engineer river administration, including
Compact curtailment. Each year, goals were established for Compact deliveries and
decisions were made about the amount of water that would be available to the Rio
Grande from the Project. The quantity of Project water anticipated to be available was
applied into the Rio Grande’s estimated annual delivery requirement under the
Compact. The curtailment of water rights on the Rio Grande was then reduced to
account for the substitute supply made available from the Project, and Benefitted Water
Rights were able to divert in priority the additional water made available thereby. C.
The ability to exercise the appropriative right of substitution and the amount of water
beneficially used depends, in large part, on (1) the annual yield of the Closed Basin
Project pursuant to Section 104(b)(1) of the Reclamation Project Authorization Act of
1972 (as amended), (2) the Rio Grande’s separate delivery obligation under Article III of
the Compact, and (3) the timing and duration of flow into the Rio Grande and its
tributaries in former Water District No. 20. Each of these factors is largely beyond the
control of the RGWUA. Nonetheless, the plan of substitution was carried out to the full
extent of the Project water available each year. This practice increased the amount of
water available for in-priority diversions by the Benefitted Water Rights. D. During the
Diligence Period (August 2003 to August 2009), the following amounts of water were
available to and used as the Rio Grande’s share of Closed Basin Project production:
2003 –5,365 (entire year); 2004 – 6,507; 2005 – 6,432; 2006 – 8,582; 2007 – 9,023;
2008 – 8,726 acre-feet; 20091 [Based on provisional data from the Division Engineer 10Day report.] – 5,816 as of August 10, 2009. E. During the Diligence Period, the RGWUA
has acted to preserve and protect its water rights and the water rights of its members by
filing statements of opposition to and participating numerous other judicial proceedings
in Water Division 3. F. The work performed and actions taken by the RGWUA during
the Diligence Period demonstrate the RGWUA’s continuing intent to develop the
conditional rights originally decreed in Case No. 90CW45. Applicant has shown that it
can and will beneficially use the conditional appropriative right of substitution, and that
the conditional water rights can and will be completed and exercised with diligence and
within a reasonable time. IX. Names(s) and address(es) of owner(s) or reputed
owners of the land upon which any new diversion or storage structure, or
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modification to any existing diversion or storage structure is or will be
constructed or upon which water is or will be stored, including any modification
to the existing storage pool. You must notify these persons that you are applying
for this water right, and certify to the Court that you have done so by no later than
ten days after filing this Application. Not Applicable. X. Remarks or any other
pertinent information: The RGWUA requests that the Court find that it has exercised
reasonable diligence in developing and implementing the conditional appropriative right
of substitution originally decreed in Case No. 90CW45 and that it is entitled to a decree
continuing the conditional rights in good standing and fixing a date when the next
application for a finding of reasonable diligence is required to pursuant to ' 37-92301(4), C.R.S.
(8 Pages, including Attachments)
Case No. 2009CW20. Concerning the joint application for water rights of the State of
Colorado, Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife, and Wildlife
Commission and the Rio Grande Water Conservation District In Alamosa County,
Colorado. Attorneys for Applicant Rio Grande Water Conservation District: David W.
Robbins, # 6112, Ingrid C. Barrier, # 32126, Hill & Robbins, P.C., 1441 18th Street,
Suite 100, Denver, CO 80202-1256, Phone: (303) 296-8100, Fax:
(303) 2962388. Attorneys for Applicant Colorado Division of Wildlife: Susan J. Schneider, #
19961, Attorney General’s Office, Natural Resources Section, 1525 Sherman Street, 5th
Floor, Denver, CO 80203, Phone:
(303) 866-5046.
Name, mailing address, and telephone number of Applicant: A.
Rio
Grande
Water
Conservation District, c/o Steven E. Vandiver, General Manager, 10900 Highway 160 East,
Alamosa, CO 81101, Telephone: 719.589.6301. B. Colorado Division of Wildlife, c/o Water
Unit, 6060 North Broadway, Denver, CO 80216-1029, Telephone: 303.297.1192 2.
Name
of Structure: San Luis Lake. 3.Describe conditional water right, as to each structure, giving the
following from the Referee's Ruling and Judgment and Decree:
Date of Original Decree: September 25, 1996. Case Nos.: 95CW40, 02CW45 Court:
District Court, Water Division 3, State of Colorado. B. Legal Description: A natural
lake located in portions of Sections 25, 26, 35, and 36, T. 40 N., R. 11 E,, of the N.M.P.M.
The northwest corner of Section 19, T. 40 N., R. 12 E., bears N 44°56’55” E, a distance of
10,261.42 feet from the inlet of said lake and N 30°44’18” E, a distance of 15,764.45 feet
from the outlet. C.
Source: Tributary inflows into San Luis Lake from Medano Creek,
Sand Creek, Big Spring Creek, Little Spring Creek, and San Luis Creek and its tributaries,
including Saguache Creek and La Garita Creek. D.
Appropriation Date: November
1, 1994. Amount: 1,635 acre-feet of storage, conditional. E. Use:
Recreation, fish
culture, wildlife enhancement, replacement of evaporation and seepage losses, and all
uses specified in Case Nos. W-3038 and W-3962. In addition, water can be diverted from
the San Luis Lake for delivery to beneficial use in other areas of the San Luis Valley
either for direct application or by exchange. The beneficial uses shall be those
contemplated by Case Nos. W-3038 and W-3962. F. Depth (if well):
n/a.
4.
Provide a detailed outline of what has been done toward completion or for
completion of the appropriation and application of water to a beneficial use as
conditionally decreed, including expenditures: During the diligence period, the
Applicants, the Rio Grande Water Conservation District (“the District”) and the Colorado
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Division of Wildlife (“the Division”) (jointly, “Applicants”) had intended to store naturally
occurring inflows to San Luis Lake in the space between 7,520.8 feet and 7,525 feet
above MSL on a joint basis, and hold title to the inflows stored on an equal and pro rata
basis with each Applicant being entitled to one-half of any water stored pursuant to this
decree. During the diligence period, the Applicants have spent funds and efforts to jointly
maintain the San Luis Lake so that it is complete and equipped to hold water when water
becomes available for storage. To this end, the Division has operated the Wildlife Area at
the San Luis Lake throughout the diligence period at considerable expense. The
Applicants obtained the storage right in this decree to assist the operation of various
features of the Closed Basin Water Salvage Project ("the Project"), to provide an
additional source of water to benefit the lands within the District by exchange as well as to
provide water for the Division's Project Mitigation activities. During the diligence period,
the Applicants continued to maintain water accounting records for storage in the San Luis
Lake as well as annual Closed Basin Project salvage well production. The District also
supported development of the Rio Grande Decision Support System and extensive
studies of native vegetation evapotranspiration for hydrologic modeling. During the
diligence period no water was stored under this decree's priority due to the adverse
hydrologic conditions of the last six years in this region. In fact, the hydrologic conditions,
during this diligence period, were so unfavorable that the lake level did not ever reach the
bottom of this storage pool (located at elevation 7520.8) making storage in this space
impossible. Runoff was not sufficient to fill the more senior decreed storage space located
below elevation 7520.8 and therefore no water was able to be stored pursuant to the
priorities in this decree. As soon as water becomes available for storage from native
inflows to the San Luis Lake, the Applicants, having maintained the Lake’s ability to store
water when it is available in priority, intend to capture and store the water and put such
water to beneficial use pursuant to the terms of this decree. 5. If
claim
to
make
absolute: n/a. 6.
Names and addresses of owners of the land on which
structure is or will be located, upon which water is or will be stored, or upon which
water is or will be placed to beneficial use: The land on which San Luis Lake is
located is owned by the State of Colorado, Department of Natural Resources, and Board
of Land Commissioners, subject to a lease to the Applicant Division of Wildlife, c/o Grady
McNeill, 6060 North Broadway, Denver, CO 80216-1029.
(6 Pages, with Attachments)
THE WATER RIGHTS CLAIMED BY THESE APPLICATIONS MAY AFFECT IN
PRIORITY ANY WATER RIGHTS CLAIMED OR HERETOFORE ADJUDICATED
WITHIN THIS DIVISION AND OWNERS OF AFFECTED RIGHTS MUST APPEAR TO
OBJECT WITHIN THE TIME PROVIDED BY STATUTE OR BE FOREVER BARRED.
You are further notified that you have until the last day of October, 2009, to file with
the Water Clerk, a verified statement of opposition setting forth facts as to why a certain
application should not be granted or why it should be granted only in part or on certain
conditions or a protest to the requested correction. A copy of such a statement of
opposition or protest must also be served upon the Applicant or the Applicant’s attorney
and an affidavit or certificate of such service must be filed with the Water Clerk. A
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$158.00 filing fee is required. PLEASE NOTE: WATER DIVISION 3 HAS MANDATORY
E-FILING FOR ALL PARTIES REPRESENTED BY AN ATTORNEY.
You can review the complete applications or requests for correction in the office of
the Alamosa Combined Court, 702 Fourth St., Alamosa, CO 81101.
Witness my hand and seal of this Court this 10th day of September, 2009.
______________________________________
Shirley Skinner, Clerk of the Court
Alamosa Combined Courts
Water Court, Water Division 3
702 Fourth Street, Alamosa, CO 81101
SEAL
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