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<br />m <br /><"'0 <br />l:'--- <br />CJ <br />'..) <br />c...~, <br /> <br />I <br />I <br />t <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />almost 100 percent for irrigation. T~!~ study has arriy~d at an es!imate of <br />~ppr()ximat~1Y300.000acre':"feet per year(~f(.YLil.~_tl1.~pote'rTtiqLneed for new <br />l ~:l <br />1 ands and suppl ementa 1 water for:l_~~~~pr:esently unde.rc.Yltiva:t:ig_~. 17-C!~,.' · <br /> <br />Under realistic market and cost conditions faced at present by Valley <br />farmers, $15 to $20 per acre-foot per year ($/af/y) is the range which could <br />be paid for supplemental irrigation water. Under a highly optimistic <br />situation of an ideal crop mix, high commodity prices, and relatively low <br />(possibly unrealistically low) land preparation costs, Valley farmers should <br />be able to pay an estimated maximum of approximately $56/af/y. <br /> <br />Based on development of 100,000 af/y from the deep confined aquifer which <br />lies below 3000 feet, assuming an average aquifer transmissivity of 25,000 <br />gallons per day per foot (gpd/ft), and further assuming that the pumping <br />occurs at a constant rate 12 months per year, the unit cost to deliver the <br />water to the ground surface would be approximately $210/af/y (Table 5.1). <br />Were the same vol ume of water produced during onl ya four-month peri od each <br />year, the unit cost would be approximately $370/af/y. <br /> <br />Development costs for ground water from the shallow confined aquifer in a <br />depth range of 1000 to 3000 feet are estimated atj50/af/y pumping 12 months <br />per year, and approximately $aO/af/y pumping 4 months per year, based on an <br />- ~ <br />average aquifer transmissivity of 250,000 gpd/ft. The water development cost <br />estimates presented herein (Table 5.1) are highly dependent on aquifer <br />transmissivity and potentiometric (artesian) pressure, which have been <br />estimated for the Valley from the limited water well data base discussed <br />earlier. <br /> <br />Several locations in the Valley have been identified where there is <br />upward leakage within the deep confined aquifer and the shallow confined <br />aquifer. The most prominent of these are in the Alamosa area and the <br />Hooper/Baca Grant area. If upward leakage between aquifers occurs throughout <br />most of the San Luis Valley, this may indicate the potential for a tributary <br />condition for the shallow confined aquifer (above a depth of about 2500 to <br /> <br />5-3 <br />