The Office of the Division Engineer in Durango employs 4 engineers and 14 water commissioners. The primary function of the office is to set up and monitor irrigation rights and make sure that irrigation systems are working properly. In regards to ALP, the Office of the Division Engineer does not take an advocacy role, and has served as an informational resource for both opponents and proponents of ALP. Below are some useful facts that were generated by Ken Beegle, division engineer in the Durango office.

Several major rivers pass through the Ute Mountain Ute and Southern Ute reservations including the Animas, La Plata, Dolores, Pine, Florida, Mancos and Piedra Rivers. Of these rivers only the Animas and the main fork of the Piedra are under appropriated.

There are roughly 150 non-Indian irrigators on the La Plata River irrigating about 15,000 acres.

Water rights on the La Plata go for about $2,400 per acre foot.

The flow of the Animas river is roughly ten times the flow of the La Plata

In the South West region of Colorado there is an annual flow of about 2 million a-f per year out of the state.