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<br />1.1 Historical Background <br /> <br /> <br />Artiflcial groundwater recharge is a recently lmplemented method of <br /> <br /> <br />basin water management along the South Platte River. It is the latest in a <br /> <br /> <br />series of engineering attempts to provlde water for agricultural use in the <br /> <br /> <br />South Platte River basin. In chronological order of implementation canals, <br /> <br /> <br />reservoirs, wells, and most recently augmentation/recharge projects have <br /> <br /> <br />been developed and used by the farmers along the South Platte River to <br /> <br /> <br />improve water availability and reliability. The extensive canal system of <br /> <br /> <br />the South Platte Rlver basin was built by the earliest settlers in the late <br /> <br /> <br />1800's (1). Later in the early 1900's reservoirs were constructed. These <br /> <br /> <br />reservolrs were bullt to store excess water that flowed in the South Platte <br /> <br /> <br />River during winter and spring. The stored water could then be released <br /> <br /> <br />during the irrigation season, when flow in the river was low and the demand <br /> <br /> <br />for water was high. <br /> <br /> <br />Starting in the 1920's, farmers who had low priority surface water <br /> <br /> <br />rights constructed wells to tap the groundwater in the alluvial aquifer of <br /> <br /> <br />the South Platte River Basin. Between 1947 and 1970, groundwater storage <br /> <br /> <br />dropped by 456,000 acre-feet per year, and seepage to the river dropped by <br /> <br /> <br />an estimated 250,000 acre-feet per year. By 1970, 6,700 wells had been <br /> <br /> <br />drllled(2), and it had become apparent that this groundwater pumping was <br /> <br /> <br />depleting the supply of water in the river. Several cases were filed in <br /> <br /> <br />water cpurt, which brought about the need to consider the relationship <br /> <br /> <br />between surface and groundwaters. <br /> <br /> <br />In 1969 the "Water Rights Determination Act" was passed. The act <br /> <br /> <br />states that the policy of the State of Colorado is to integrate groundwater <br /> <br /> <br />and surface water use in order to maximize beneficial use. The following <br /> <br /> <br />principles summarize the Water Rights Determination Act: <br /> <br />2 <br />