From The Fowler Tribune (Bette McFarren):
Engineers, attorneys and those who explain the complications of the world of water control in Colorado met on Tuesday in La Junta at the beginning of a three-day conference of the Colorado Water [Conservation] Board, the first in 10 years to be hosted here.
Tuesday was a day of touring projects currently sponsored in part or in whole by the CWCB, including The Catlin Canal Pilot Project, the North La Junta Flood Mitigation project, and the Fort Lyon Canal Horse Creek Flume Replacement.
The Catlin Canal Pilot Project was explained by Jack Vogle, Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy Board engineer. He gave a rundown on the Super Ditch, a program introduced three years ago to help both municipalities to get water and farmers to gain income. He explained that farmers can fallow up to 30 pecent of their cultivated land (that is, not irrigate), giving their water right portion of water to municipalities. In return, they are paid $1,020 per acre for the water that would have gone to the irrigation of the fallowed acres. The farmers may plant a cover crop to prevent weed invasion and blowing dirt, but they may not irrigate the land. Six farms are engaged in the Catlin Canal Pilot Project, which is now in its second year. So far, the results have been good for both the cities and the farmers.
The CWCB group met at the recharge pond on the Schweizer property. This is a plowed shallow area to gather water and allow the water to seep back into the ground to replace water that would historically have been returned to the river by the irrigated fields. This recharge pond will seep into Timpas Creek, which flows into the Arkansas River near La Junta. The other recharge pond is located on the Hanagan farm at Swink, visible from Highway 50 on the north side of the road.
The second site visited was the North La Junta Flood Mitigation project, where Gary Harper, the project’s grant writer, Jeanette Myers, LAVWCD Manageer Jay Winner and Otero County Commissioner Kevin Karney explained the difficulty, the improbability and the success of the project so far. At this time, five islands which created a pinch point on the Arkansas River at North La Junta have been removed, with the result that, although a record flow may be spilled down the Arkansas from the Pueblo Dam this year in April, the water will flow on down the stream without flooding North La Junta. It is a win-win situation for North La Junta and water users downstream. CWCB members could be heard discussing how economically the project has been managed so far. Phase I is complete, but Phase II will be up for approval on Wednesday afternoon at the CWCB meeting, open to the public at Otero Junior College Student Center.
The third site visited was the Fort Lyon Canal Flume project site. The Fort Lyon Canal, largest ditch in Colorado, is 140 miles long. The flume project is a gigantic pipe which replaces a previous flume which had failed after seven years. Last year the new pipe filled up 31 times, with an average of 220 acre-feet of water transferred each time. “Money well spent,” commented Travis Smith, representative from the San Luis Valley Irrigation District and representative to the CWCB from the Rio Grande Basin.