South Platte - Ovid Reservoir Comprehensive Feasibility Study_Application

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Water Supply Reserve Account - Grant Application Form Form Revised May 2007 6. Water Availability and Sustainability - this information is needed to assess the viability and effectiveness of the water project or activity. Please provide a description of each water supply source to be utilized for, or the water body to be affected by, the water activity. For water supply sources being utilized, describe its location, yield, extent of development, and water right status. For water bodies being affected, describe its location, extent of development, and the expected effect of the water activity on the water body, in either case, the analysis should take into consideration a reasonable range of hydrologic variation. Water Availability The water supply comes primarily from a junior (1998) conditional water right. This right allows diversion from the South Platte River through the Peterson Ditch. Potentially other sources such as wells adjacent to the river may be used to fill the reservoir. The location of the reservoir is far enough below senior demands that it can divert and store in many time periods. It also appears that there is a flood component to the Peterson Ditch that may allow the reservoir to capture flood flows that overtop and fill the ditch. In addition, there may be recharge projects that could become a part of this project. Accretions to the stream credited to these recharge projects may not have value at the time they make it back to the river. They could be redirected and stored for release at a later time when they are beneficial, using agreements with existing recharge projects. There are also compact issues that may be addressed through the use of the reservoir during certain time periods by making releases that keep the compact whole for extended periods of time. This may allow for extended recharge diversions for well augmentation plans and additional time for retiming of water for the PRRIP. Sustainability This project will develop a new water supply for the region. There are many times that flows are leaving the State of Colorado that could legally be diverted and beneficially used. A storage facility would serve as an important retiming facility to cover water demands in the region. It will serve to assist irrigated agriculture on highly productive farmland. It can also serve to optimize some recharge projects that were financially assisted by CWCB, by recapturing and retiming flows for beneficial use. A portion of the proposal will identify additional partnerships with other water interests that could also benefit from this project. There are commitments that have been made through the PRRIP that could potentially be addressed through this project. 14