South Platte - Lower South Platte Wetland Initiative Water Activity Summary Sheet

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Water Supply Reserve Account – Grant and Loan Program Water Activity Summary Sheet Applicant: Ducks Unlimited, Inc. Water Activity Name: Lower South Platte Wetland Initiative Phase I Water Activity Purpose: Feasibility Studies, technical assistance and structural/consumptive project County: Sedgwick, Morgan and Logan Drainage Basin: South Platte River Water Source: South Platte River Amount Requested: $278,476 (Statewide Account) Matching Funds: Yes, $500,255 Water Activity Summary: The objective of this project is to develop several wetland recharge projects along the lower South Platte River in Morgan, Logan and Sedgwick Counties. The concept is to divert water into wetlands in the winter months when it is legal available and allow the water to infiltrate into the alluvial aquifer and eventually back to the river channel. Detailed analyses and modelling have been performed to assure that recharge water returns to the river at the predicted time. Through these wetland recharge projects, less senior water rights can operate out of priority without causing injury to senior right holders. River management under this type of system has permitted several junior water rights holders to continue operating legally. Recharge projects as part of a program to augment South Platte River flows through the alluvial aquifer have become a widely accepted and dependable technique for meeting the demands of water users along the river. Without river augmentation municipal, industrial, and agricultural operations would be severely and negatively impacted. Aside from retiming the legal available flows in the river, these wetland recharge projects provide significant benefit to migrating and wintering birds. The lower South Platte is an import flyway for migratory birds and waterfowl. Recent studies conducted by the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory (RMBO) and the CDOW demonstrate that recharge wetlands are vital to migratory and winteringt birds on the South Platte River, as more than 20 species of migratory birds and 27 species of waterfowl of national importance depend on these. These wetlands will be utilized for waterfowl hunting which contributes significantly to the local economies. Early in Duck Unlimited’s (DU) program efforts, they joined Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District (NCWCD), Lower South Platte Water Conservancy District (LSPWCD), and South Platte Wetlands Focus Area (SPLRG) to develop the Tamarack Recharge Project. This project is the centerpiece of Colorado’s contribution to the Platte River Recovery Program (PRRP). Seven years after initiating preliminary work on the Tamarack Ranch recharge activities, the PRRP was signed by all three states and the federal government, making Tamarack a much needed project. But, it is only part of the solution. Much more work is needed to build the required capacity to meet the 10,000 acre feet/year first increment goal for Colorado. For Morgan, Logan and Sedwick and Washington Counties, SWSI identified a shortfall of 8,000 acre-feet of water for M&I uses for 2030 assuming that 8,900 acre-feet developed through the Identified Projects and Processes (IPPs). For the purposes of this application DU chose three landowners on three tracts of land that would best demonstrate the power of collaboration and the ability for partnerships to meet the goals and objectives of 1