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fl r, 'i f: 1'\ 8 .:)', , 1- ," '," II. AUGMENTATION/RECHARGE ON THE SOUTH PLATTE RIVER 2.1 Recharge Studies Several studies have been made to document the underground flow from recharge ponds/canals to the river. The following is a summary of 5 studies which illustrate the feasibility of artificial recharge as augmentation to the South Platte River. 2.1.1 Olds Reservoir Recharge Study A groundwater recharge investigation was conducted in the early 1960's at Olds Reservoir in the Prospect Valley area by the Colorado Agricultur~l Experiment Station (4). The Prospect Valley area is about 40 miles northeast of Denver and about 15 miles south of the South Platte River. Groundwater pumping for irrigation use is widespread in Prospect Valley and is the major depletion from the aquifer. The major source of recharge to the aquifer is deep percolation from applied irrigation water. The Prospect Vally aquifer consists of a hetergeneous mixture of cobbles, sand, gravel, silt and clay deposits. Aquifier thickness varies from a few feet near the valley edges to about 150 feet in the central part. Olds Reservoir has a storage capacity of about 450 acre-feet and was originally constructed in 1918 as a part of the Henry Lyn irrigation system. Due to excessive seepage losses the reservoir was soon abandoned. Water was purposely diverted into Olds Reservoir starting in 1939 for recharging the groundwater. The benefits of this recharge operation was noted by the rise of water le~els in nearby irrigation wells. Since that time, artificial recharge has been conducted in Olds Reservoir whenever water is available. Water is supplied to Olds Reservoir through a series of canals. Water is diverted from the South Platte River near the north edge of Denver, through the Burlington and Obrien canals to Barr Lake. From there the water is 7 ,,; -, J