Metropolitan Water Supply Investigation Report

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I I I I I I I I I , Metropolitan Water Supply Investigation Executive Summary The Northwest Metro Sub-reeion includes Arvada, Broomfield, the Consolidated Mutual Water Company, Golden, Northglenn, Westminster and other small providers in the Clear Creek basin. The water supply sources currently available to this sub-region consist primarily of Clear Creek municipal rights and changed irrigation rights and partial service contracts with Denver Water, which are mostly satisfied via deliveries from the Moffat Tunnel Collection System. The long-term water demands for this sub-region are projected to be about 100,000 acre- feet per year. Most of the sub-region's projected increase in water demand is associated with anticipated growth in Arvada and Broomfield. Providers in this sub-region have plans in place to meet about 90,000 acre-feet of this need. Cooperative planning efforts for meeting the remaining 10,000 acre-feet of need in this sub-region are focused upon coordinated use and sharing of existing or new storage and conveyance facilities and expanded reuse. Within each of these sub-regions, cooperative water supply approaches could play an important role in meeting future water supply needs in a manner that could potentially reduce the costs and environmental permitting risks associated with other options. RECOMMENDATIONS 1. It is recommended that a continuing state-sponsored cooperative supply planning forum be established. The MWSI has improved communication, mutual understanding and cooperation between metro Denver area water providers, West Slope interests and environmental interests. Is has resulted in several ongoing collaborative studies which are designed to increase water supplies in mutually acceptable ways. It has also had a major effect upon other ongoing planning efforts addressing issues of critical importance to the metro Denver area's water supplies. These include: . Quadrant investigations of various cooperative water supply opportunities . The Platte River Cooperative Agreement and EIS process . The Upper Colorado River Basin Study . The Colorado River Endangered Fish Species Water Availability Study . The Chatfield Reservoir Reallocation Feasibility Study . The USFS's South Platte Wild & Scenic Study and associated negotiations. . The Northern Regional Water Coalition's investigation of long-term future M&I water needs of the Northern Front Range These studies and planning efforts are proceeding independently, but are highly interrelated and deal with complex issues that affect numerous parties. It is therefore recommended that a continuing state-sponsored forum be established to serve the following functions: Xlll Prepared for the Colorado Water Conservation Board, Colorado Department of Natural Resources hv Lr..A_...__'L......_~ D...~""-.._....... r"....._.....I..__..... 1f\1l., '\11....1.......' C'_......... c..:..... "\f\t"\ n_._t.