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<br />Section 8 <br />Options for the North Platte Basin <br />'.1111 <br /> <br />8.3.1 Identified Projects and Processes <br /> <br />for M&I, SSI, and Agricultural <br /> <br />Users <br /> <br />The North Platte River headwaters in Colorado are a <br />relatively small portion of the overall North Platte Basin. <br />Farming and ranching are the predominant economic <br />base. The North Platte Basin is expected to see a <br />relatively small increase in M&I and SSI demands (about <br />a 100 AF increase between 2000 and 2030), so major <br />Identified Projects and Processes were not brought forth <br />for formal cataloging in SWSI. It is anticipated that this <br />increase in demand will be met primarily via the <br />application of existing supplies and water rights. <br /> <br />8.4 Specific Issues in the North <br />Platte Basin <br /> <br />Key activities related to water supply planning and basin <br />specific issues in the North Platte Basin were identified <br />during the SWSI process and SWSI Basin Roundtable <br />Technical Meetings. This section summarizes the basin <br />specific activities and issues related to water planning <br />and water resource management and environmental and <br />recreational options. In addition, existing conditional <br />storage rights and restricted reservoir sites in each basin <br />were identified and discussed during the process and are <br />also summarized. <br /> <br />The North Platte Basin includes the North Platte and <br />Laramie Rivers. The North Platte Basin is one of <br />Colorado's only basins with concern over the lack of <br />growth and economic development Other issues include <br />a desire to ensure protection of existing water supplies, <br />and a concern over the impact of the lack of forest <br />management It is important to ensure that Endangered <br />Species issues on the Platte River in central Nebraska <br />do not put pressure on North Platte water users to <br />reduce existing uses. <br /> <br />8.4.1 Conditional Storage Rights <br /> <br />Consistent with SWSI's objective of identifying various <br />water management possibilities, the concepts of <br />enhancing water supplies throughout Colorado by <br />perfecting conditional storage rights and rehabilitating <br />existing reservoirs were explored. As was described in <br />Section 4.1.1, a conditional water right is not an absolute <br />water right, and therefore has not been put to beneficial <br />use. A conditional storage right must have two elements <br /> <br />CONI <br /> <br />8-6 <br /> <br />in order to exist First, there must be an intent, and <br />secondly, an act An intent is a plan that includes <br />diligently proceeding with actions until eventually the full <br />beneficial use of the water is realized. An act could be as <br />simple as staking the location of the structure. Cities are <br />given more flexibility in this process, having only to show <br />expected requirements based on validated growth <br />projections. However, because some conditional storage <br />rights holders have priority dates senior to existing <br />absolute junior rights, if they fully exercise their rights, <br />junior water rights holders would be affected. Conditional <br />storage rights can therefore play an important role in the <br />development of the state's water resources if they were <br />to be fully implemented. Conditional storage rights in the <br />North Platte Basin are discussed in more detail in <br />Section 8.4.4. <br /> <br />8.4.2 Gap Analysis Issues <br /> <br />Because no M&I gap is anticipated, no issues arose in <br />the North Platte Basin Roundtable process for this use. <br /> <br />8.4.3 Supply Availability Issues <br /> <br />The North Platte Decree, as described in Section 4 and <br />7, limits the total irrigated acres, agricultural reservoir <br />storage, and transmountain diversions. <br /> <br />RICDs and CWCB instream flow water rights may impact <br />the ability to manage water supplies upstream of such <br />water rights. <br /> <br />8.4.4 Summary of North Platte Basin <br />Conditional Storage Rights <br /> <br />To portray the conditional storage rights present in the <br />North Platte Basin, the area was described using water <br />districts as shown in Figure 8-4. <br /> <br />The two water districts in the North Platte Basin can also <br />be described using the main stream systems, which are <br />shown in Table 8-2. <br /> <br />Table 8-2 North Platte Basin Water Districts and Associated <br />Stream Names <br /> <br />Water District Stream Name <br /> <br />47 I North Platte River <br />48 Laramie River <br /> <br />S:\1177\Basin Reports\North Platte\SB_North Platte.doc <br />