Prairie Ditch and San Luis Valley Canal San Luis Valley, Colorado
The lands served by the Prairie Ditch and San Luis Valley Canal lie largely within
what is known as the "Closed Basin."
Surface water is diverted from the Rio Grande into the Closed Basin for recharge
of a shallow aquifer. The groundwater is subsequently pumped from the aquifer
and used to irrigate crops.
The Closed Basin occupies the northern portion of the San Luis Valley, and is
separated from the Rio Grande's alluvial valley by a low topographic divide and
a shallow groundwater divide oriented roughly parallel to the river. Water
imported into the Closed Basin does not naturally return to the Rio Grande.
The Prairie Ditch and the San Luis Valley Canal Companies recognize that continued
importation of direct flow surface water from the Rio Grande, in conjunction with
groundwater recharge, is crucial to sustaining the shallow groundwater reservoir
that allows the continuing operation of their center pivot sprinkler systems. To
this end, Company shareholders have constructed groundwater recharge facilities to
artificially recharge groundwater.
Deere & Ault performed an investigation of the historical water
use practiced by the Prairie Ditch and San Luis Valley Canal Companies. The
objectives of this investigation were to confirm their historical practice of
recharging the unconfined aquifer of the Closed Basin, and to present a methodology
and accounting procedure to quantify the volume of recharge to the unconfined aquifer
of the Closed Basin from their water rights.
Deere & Ault's staff performed a hydrologic analysis of the Closed
Basin, updating the location of the groundwater divide. Our staff provided
expert witness testimony on the Prairie Ditch Case, which was settled in late-2001.
The San Luis Valley Canal Case is currently pending.
Client: Prairie Ditch Company and San Luis Valley Canal Company
