South Platte - Lower South Platte Wetland Initiative Phase I_Application-Void

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Water Supply Reserve Account - Grant Application Form Form Revised May 2007 over potential flooding of adjacent neighbors and contamination of groundwater halted the easternmost project from being completed. The city has now settled those disputes through intense groundwater monitoring and adjacent land purchases and is now ready to proceed with the final phase of the project. Ducks Unlimited will refurbish the existing diversion structure and construct laterals to deliver water from the canal to the wetland basins. Four wetland basins will be developed and connected through open ditches and pipelines. A total of 20 new acres of wetlands will be developed capable of holding 20 acft at full service level. These wetlands will be topped off several times throughout the recharge season to introduce several hundred acft into the al1uvial aquifer annually. Golden Eagle Ranch This property is quickly becoming the centerpiece ofDU's private lands projects. The 2,000-acre property located near Proctor, Colorado straddles both sides of the river. In 2003, the landowners donated a conservation easement to Ducks Unlimited, protecting the land and water rights in perpetuity. DU has been working with the landowners to develop recharge facilities that will increase recreational hunting opportunities while maintaining an agricultural enterprise. The LSPWCD recently recieved a small North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NA WCA) grant ($75,000) to construct wetlands on the property for the purposes of recharge, and to provide habitat for waterfowl. Funds will be used to construct 8 wetlands on marginal irrigated cropland. NA WCA funds will pay for survey and design, levee construction, and water level control structures. However, as part of the restoration, funds are required to improve the water delivery infrastructure. Upgrades are required at most ditch crossings and over half of one mile of pipe is required to line the laterals, which will assure water infiltrates the groundwater table in wetlands, not in the laterals. Engineering and legal documents are being drafted now and should be filed before funds fromthis grant application are awarded. Recharge credits from the project will be used by landowners, agricultural well districts, and SPWRAP. The landowners are interested in having the water to flood wetlands for recreational opportunities. This will require water from both flooding recharge wetlands with recharge water and out-of priority water covered by credits. The Lower Logan Wells Users will benefit directly fi'om the recharge credits to cover subsistrict members, mostly agricultural producers. SPWRAP has agreed to lease any excess credits from the subdistrict. Current engineering estimates indicate that there should be at least 120 acft of water available to the SPWRAP for PRRP. Heyborne Recharge Project Phase I The Heyborne project, as it has become known, includes approximately 650 acres located along the river at Ovid. Several property owners are in negotiations with our partnership DU, PFW, LSPWCD, NCWECD, SPWRAP to develop unappropriated water at the stateline for purposes of agricultural, municipal, and endangered species needs. Preliminary investigations indicate that substantial water is available at the Nebraska state line during winter months. These waters could be retimed through recharge to meet the needs of the PRRP and surrounding agricultural and municipaL needs. Ducks Unlimited and SPLRG have conducted core samples of the properties involved and found that deep soils (>65 ft) and soil conditions are advantageous for aquifer recharge projects. The SPWRAP has agreed to lease any and al1 credits from the project for the PRRP. DU has also been approached by local agricultural producers to lease credits to cover several tributary wells that are currently operating out ofpl'iority. The landowners' interest are purely for waterfowl. These properties have been purchased 4