La Junta has purchased four farms on the Holbrook Canal with plans to lease back the land and irrigation water to willing farmers. La Junta Water Superintendent Joe Kelley calls the idea a “reverse interruptible supply” that would give the city use of the water in three years out of 10, while helping to keep the local agricultural economy alive. The city would use the water in the driest of years. La Junta purchased four farms that have about 900 shares of the Holbrook Canal. The city has options on another 170 shares, for a total of about 6.5 percent of the canal’s more than 16,000 shares. In total, the city will have spent $2 million for the land and water, a little more than the agricultural price of the water, but probably less than its long-term municipal value.

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