Water Rights
Direct Flow & Surface Storage Rights
Gallegos Family:
The Gallegos family owns the Consolidated Larson Ditch, as well as Larson Reservoir Nos. 1 and 2 in the Upper Crow Creek Designated Ground Water Basin. Since these surface water rights pre-date the creation of the designated basin, it was thought that these rights should be protected from the more junior ground water irrigation pumping occurring upstream of the surface diversion of the Consolidated Larson Ditch. LWS conducted a field investigation to assess how the upgradient irrigation wells were affecting flow at the ditch headgate and prepared an expert report for a District Court trial demonstrating the injury being caused by the upgrading alluvial aquifer pumping.
Town Of Monument, Colorado:
Monument Lake was built by the State of Colorado in the 1890s but no water right had ever been adjudicated for surface storage at the lake. Once Monument obtained title to the lake from the State, LWS assisted legal counsel with an application in Division 2 Water Court to adjudicate a water storage right for Monument Lake. Historic flow and water right called data were used to assess the volume of in-priority flows available for storage at Monument Lake and these data were used to support the adjudication of the water storage right.
CAC Timnath:
CAC Timnath is developing the Timnath Landing property southeast of Fort Collins and needs to adjudicate an augmentation plan to allow the permanent dewatering of the property to support both residential and commercial development. The source of augmentation are shares in the Lake Canal owned by CAC Timnath that will be converted as part of the augmentation plan. LWS has conducted and historic consumptive use analysis to support the augmentation plan, through interpretation of aerial photography assessment of the historic irrigation requirement through the use of the StateCU model, and evaluation of both the amount and timing of historic return flows to maintain historic conditions on the Poudre River.
Parker Water And Sanitation District:
LWS personnel cited the location of Rueter-Hess Reservoir in 1991 in the Newlin Gulch drainage, a tributary to Cherry Creek, and then assisted legal counsel with the adjudication of the water storage rights at this location, originally 9885 ac-ft, which was then expanded to 72,195 ac-ft. As part of this adjudication, LWS evaluated the ability to divert water to Rueter-Hess Reservoir through both a surface water diversion structure and through a series of alluvial aquifer wells along Cherry Creek. Water rights were obtained for a 150 cubic feet per second (cfs) surface diversion and a cumulative 12 cfs ground water diversion to Rueter-Hess Reservoir.