This page is intended as a historical and factual guide to the Domestic and Irrigation Water usage for Springridge Place. It is intended for informational purposes, and should not be used as an absolute guide to specific legal rights.
Irrigation Water
Colorado Water Law – Links
Colorado Water Law dates back to the late 1800’s. It is based on a priority system, which is essentially first come, first served. The oldest water rights get priority over other users for the amount of the water right they own. The Colorado Division of Water Resources regulates water rights, and provides Water Commissioners to oversee water allocation and use within different water districts. When the amount of water in a stream gets low, water users with senior rights will make a call, and the Water Commissioner will start to administer the water rights. Calls affect the water rights upstream from the calling right.
There are wet years, average years, and dry years when it comes to water supply. In a wet year, it may not be necessary to place calls or administer the water until late in the summer. In average years, some calls can start to be made in late May or June. On Four Mile Creek, calls are not usually needed until late June. In dry years, calls will be placed much earlier, and water can run out even for senior rights by July. For example, in 2013, Springridge Place made a call in mid-June, and water started to get low by the end of July. It was much worse in 2002 (before the pipe line was constructed), and a bit better in 2012, which was a dry year, but followed a very wet year in 2011.
The way Colorado Water Law works has some important impacts that need to be kept in mind. First, of course, is that senior water right water holders always take precedence over junior rights holders. They also must maintain “beneficial use” of their right, or risk losing the right. That has happened frequently over the years. In dry years, junior water rights may be of limited usefulness. For example, on Four Mile, by the time a call is needed, only the first two or three most senior rights will get water, and sections of the creek can be dried up. (The Springridge right is second.)
There are many protections for water right holders. For example, no one can legally interrupt the supply of water – by interfering with the head gates, ditches, or pipes, for example.
Another consequence of the priority system is that anyone with physical access to a stream may use water from the stream if there are no calls on the water. In the Spring, one thing we all can see of this policy is the irrigation used by the portion of Crystal River Ranch just to the East of Springridge. That irrigation is delivered to the ranch from a ditch just below Sunlight ski area. It works because no one below that point will generally make a call until late June in average or wet years.
And finally, using irrigation water is a “Use it or lose it” situation. Counter to what we’ve all learned about using our household water, trying to conserve irrigation water is not a major goal. The fact is, any water we do not use flows to Springridge Reserve where it must be managed. When we have the full physical supply of our water right, it is very seldom that the whole physical supply is used, and the need to conserve or limit usage within Springridge Place is generally unnecessary.
Our Water Rights
Our water rights are detailed in this document. The document specifies allowed use of irrigation water. It instructs the HOA designate an individual for supervision of the irrigation system, which includes starting up and shutting down the system. It specifies other rules for using the system, including restricting use on non-historically irrigated portions of the the subdivision.
Springridge Place Irrigation Map – Click to see larger map
Our most senior water right is for .5 CFS, with two slightly junior rights for .4625 more. These rights are the #2 priority on Four Mile Creek for the summer irrigation season. The first two old ranches on Four Mile have the #1 right. Historically, our #2 right has not been called out by the #1 right.
We also have a more junior right for an additional .6875 CFS, bringing our total to about 1.5 CFS in average years. And before any calls go on Four Mile Creek or the Colorado River, we are in a state called a “Free River”, which means anyone with physical access to the water can use it. The Free River state will typically last until June in most years. During that time, our supply is often more than our 1.5 CFS total right.
Springridge Reserve has a similar right – about 1.5 CFS
All of these rights are administered by the State of Colorado Division of Water Resources. We have a good cooperative arrangement with Lazy Diamond A, and currently, at the request of the state, there is a single contact person between our combined water right and the state.
Physical Description of SRP’s Irrigation Water Supply
Our water is taken out of Four Mile Creek at the head gate found just North of the Black Diamond bridge off of Four Mile Road. From there, it goes under Four Mile Road to a splitter box found on the Southeast corner of Dry Park and Four Mile. That box splits the Springridge Place and Reserve share with the Lazy Diamond A and Zilm shares.
From that splitter box, the water flows in an above ground channel for a short ways, where it then enters a buried pipeline to the splitter box located just across from Springridge Drive and Dry Park. That splitter box splits the water between Springridge Place and Springridge Reserve.
From the splitter box, the water flows under Dry Park in a 12″ pipe for about 40 or 50 ft, where it then feeds a 6 in main pipe to the end of Deer Valley, with 4 inch pipes to Spring Ridge Court and the end of Spring Ridge Drive. Feeds under the roads are 4 inches. Our system is a closed system – any water that is not used at any give point flows to the Springridge Reserve, where it must be completely distributed because it is not a closed system.
When the whole irrigation water supply is normal, and the system is operating normally, this means that Springridge Reserve has an excess supply of water that it must somehow use. There almost always is a surplus amount of water, and it often accumulates in the overflow ponds just to the south of Springridge Place. Another way to control excess water is to take less than the full right at the splitter box at Dry Park and Four Mile. This also reduces the total amount of water available for Springridge Place, although that seldom is a problem.
How Much Water is That?
1 CFS (Cubic Feet of Water per Second) is about 450 GPM (Gallons per Minute)
Given that we have an unpressurized gravity flow system with mostly 6 inch pipes, the theoretical carrying capacity of the pipe is about 550 GPM (or less, counting bends). (See this info.) This is less than our full 1.5 CFS water right (about 625 GPM). However, the fact the lower part of the system will be “pulling” the water, it is likely that the full capacity is really available when we are getting the full 1.5 CFS at the splitter box.
Note that this is volume of water, which is not the same as pressure. Our system has about 110 ft of vertical drop from the entrance to the end of Deer Valley Drive. In theory, there could be a bit less than 50 psi of static pressure at the bottom of the system, while there would be less than 20 psi at Springridge Court, and much less at the top. And some lots have water that must flow up hill which changes the available pressure and volume. These are static pressure values, and assume the pipe is completely full. The dynamic water pressure will be lower, and is very difficult to measure. At low water times, the pipe will not necessarily be full.
What all this means in practice is that lots in the lower part of Springridge can use the water directly, while lots higher up may need pumps. The very highest lots will have water available, but at very low pressure, and require pumps to run sprinklers.
Types of Sprinklers
Our neighbors in Springridge Place are using several different kind of sprinklers. Here is some information about typical sprinkler performance. The GPM rates assume a pressure of 40 PSI, which is more than most lots get, but is the “standard” reference value provided by sprinkler manufacturers. Pumps typically are designed to deliver a pressure from 40 to 60 psi. The total gpm of any sprinkler depends on a combination of water pressure and nozzle size.
- Typical Garden Impact Sprinkler – 2 to 4 gpm
- Typical garden spray sprinkler – 2 to 3 gpm
- Golf Course style impact – 5 to 8 gpm
- “Little Gun” (e.g., Nelson P85) – 15 to 25 gpm
- “Big Gun” (e.g., Nelson SR100) – 45 to 60 gpm
When we have our full right of water available, and the somewhat random way residents use the water, historically there has been plenty of physical water supply to avoid any need for restricting the methods people use to irrigate. This is especially true in the early season when it is still relatively cool and the ground is still moist from Spring.
Winterization
The irrigation system system supervisor is responsible for starting up and shutting down the system. Irrigation season normally runs from early May to late September. Once the system has been shut down, each individual lot owner is responsible for winterizing their connection to the system.
These steps are recommended:
Drain your pipes. After the main system has been drained, leave your connection valve to the system open for a day or two to help with the draining. You should then close your valve so that your pipes won’t immediately be filled when the system is started up the next spring.
You should leave your above ground valves half open for the winter. Leaving theme either fully open or fully closed can leave pockets of water that can freeze and break your valves.
Follow any other recommendations of your system’s installer.
Irrigation Water Rationing
The residents of Springridge Place use a variety of different systems to irrigate. As noted earlier, when we have even only the .5 CFS right, there usually is plenty of water for everyone. As the supply drops below that .5 CFS, however, there can be times when there is not enough water for all.
Part of the issue becomes the difference in altitude of the lots. The fact it, given gravity, the lowest lots in the subdivision will get water if there is water. The upper lots will not get any water in these situations. Given this physical limitation, our low water rationing policy is based on an upper/lower alternating day system. The people with higher lots will not get water in low water situations if the lower lots are using water. Because the total amount of water is reduced, the policy also bans the use of Big Gun type sprinklers. The policy is subject to revision depending on the amount of water still available. A proposal to modify the policy to limit individual diversions to 25 gpm is currently under consideration, and if the supply decreases enough, we may implement a more refined split with fewer houses, and taking into account those lots with and without timers. Because a low water situation is unique to each year, it really is not possible to have a single rationing plan.
Domestic Water
Our domestic water supply is provided by three wells located on Springridge Reserve, and stored in the two green tanks above Dry Park Road. The system is jointly owned by Springridge Place and Springridge Reserve. There is a joint committee that operates the water system, handling maintenance, testing, billing, etc.
Just like irrigation water, Colorado Water Law requires a water right to pump water out of the ground. You must have a legal source of water for your home. Most water supplied to small individual homes or housing developments is covered by what is known as an augmentation plan. Essentially, this means that the water used by a subdivision, for example, is covered by an augmentation plan that provides physical replacement for the water pumped from the ground.
How does this work for Springridge Place? The water we pump is considered “tributary” to the Roaring Fork and Colorado Rivers. Because SRP doesn’t have a senior water right, it has to provide replacement water to the Roaring Fork and Colorado Rivers for the water it pumps.
Our water is covered by a contract with the West Divide Water Conservancy District, a small government entity. West Divide currently provides contracts for a legal source of water for many residents from the Crystal River to Battlement Mesa. It operates several augmentation plans to provide replacement water for individuals, housing developments, and businesses that divert water from the Colorado River.
While it is possible to create an individual augmentation plan, it is a very complicated and expensive process. It is far easier and reliable to use the services of West Divide to provide our legal right to pump water from our wells. The augmentation plan for the Four Mile area relies on physical water from Reudi and other reservoirs, as well as a part of the same Atkinson water right we use for irrigation. West Divide also provides augmentation for other subdivisions and individuals on Four Mile.
This article was written by Bruce Wampler, who has lived in Springridge Place since 1997.