The number one priority of the District after it was formed was the cleaning and extending of the Norton Drain. The original drain was on the Norton Ranch located in the northwestern portion of Conejos County and was approximately 9.25 miles in length. 5.5 miles of the Drain was constructed from the southwestern corner of the Norton Ranch property to the terminus of the Bountiful Waste Ditch 1.5 miles south of Sanford. A west branch of the drain was constructed and is 2.5 miles long. Rights-of-Way for the Drain extension were obtained by the District from adjacent landowners with the exception of the Norton Ranch. In this case an easement was obtained from the Weisbarts on August 26, 1983 after Allen Davey did a water needs assessment which cost the District $20,000.00. Therefore the District has the responsibility for the operation and maintenance of 17.25 miles of the Drain.

Davis Engineering of Del Norte, CO, with Paul Davis as Chief Engineer, was employed by the District on April 24, 1968 to design and oversee the project. The cost of construction was approximately $200,000.00 with the largest portion of money coming from the State of Colorado and the District. Construction began in December, 1969 and was completed by the end of April, 1970.

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The District filed for the water right in Division 3 Water Court March 16, 1970 and was granted an absolute water right by the Court March 16, 1971 with a priortiy date of April 29, 1968. The West Branch is decreed for 25 cfs and the main branch for 150 cfs. The decree says that 50% of the waters appropriated and diverted by the applicant through its drain ditch are salvage waters which are not subject to the claims of prior appropriators on the Rio Grande River system, to which said waters appropriated by applicant are otherwise tributary and not salvaged and are subject to being administered according to the appropriation date thereof as a part of said River system. The decree also states that landowners adjacent to the drain and its estensions may install checks and obstructions for the purpose of subirrigation.

The production of the Norton Drain varies from year to year depending n the amount of water diverted from the Rio Grande and Conejos River. The Division of Water Resources in Alamosa calculate production based on a water year which is from November 1 to October 1 or a calendar year which is from January 1 to December 31. According to its records the minimum water year production occurred in 1981 and was 2,581.3 AF and the maximum water year production was 10,193.8 AF in 1992. The average yearly production is 5,458.3 AF for the period 1971-1994.

During the rehabilitation of the main drain and construction of the drain extensions a Parshall rating flume with a continuous recorder was installed on theloser end of the drain to the Rio Grande for compact purposes. This guaging station is read by the Division of Water Resources and maintained by the District. In the spring of 1990 another Parshall rating flume was installed at a point in the drain to measure the Conejos River contribution to the drain. The location was selected by an on the ground inspection by representatives from the Rio Grande Water Users Association, Conejos Water Conservancy District and the Rio Grande Water Conservation District. The source of water for the Rio Grande’s contribution to the drain comes from Commonwealth Ditch Co. (Empire Canal) water that is used to irrigate the old Norton Ranch property. The primary source of water for the Conejos River’s contribution comes from the Bountiful waste ditch. which discharges into the drain south of Sanford.

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For many years all of the drain water was allocated to the Rio Grande for Compact purposes. It is my understanding that this occurred around 1975 when the Conejos River people objected to the State Engineer’s Operating Criteria for the Conejos River. Since the upper guaging station was installed in the spring of 1990, all the water that flows through it is credited to the Conejos River for Compact purposes and the Rio Grande is credited for Compact purposes the total production of the lower guaging station minus the production of the upper guaging station. Since 1990 the Conejos has received approximately two thirds the production of the drain for Compact purposes. This method of allocation was approved by a resolution passed by the Board of Directors of the District on April 17, 1990.

Because of problems with landowners checking up the drain, the Board of Directors adopted Rules and Regulations for the operation of the Drain. This is working reasonably well at this time.