From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):
“Most all of us have had it running since 1890 or ’95. It’s been running for 114 years, and now the state’s shutting it off and sending it into the mainstem of the river,” Reed said. Reed farms off the Wiley Drain of the Fort Lyon Canal, which historically carried its flows through the Wiley area into the Amity Canal, later to be returned to the Arkansas River. The drain is fed by tile drains in fields along the way, return flows not fully used by crops. About two years ago, he was told by the state Division of Water Resources that his diversion points were in the wrong places and that he was taking water out of priority. Once he fixes those problems, at his own expense, he’ll get less water than he has in the past.
More Arkansas River Basin coverage here.