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<br />INTRODUCTION <br /> <br />Because the legislative and legal history behind well <br />augmentation in the South Platte River Basin has re- <br />cently been covered in great detail elsewhere in the <br />media and published literature, it will not be repeated <br />here. For an in-depth history and coverage of Colorado <br />Water law, the reader is referred to the Colorado water <br />Law Bench Book, published by the Colorado Bar As- <br />sociation and Kryloff (2007). <br /> <br />The purpose ofthis report is to present a technical evalu- <br />ation of the current application of these new laws and <br />the regulation of wells. In doing so, the status of know 1- <br />edge concerning actual river behavior dating back from <br />the early 1940s to the present time has been incorpo- <br />rated into the analysis by means of a comprehensive, <br />yet conceptually simple water yield simulation model. <br />The results from this model are then compared with the <br />current legal and regulatory requirements that have been <br /> <br />imposed on wells, and conclusions are reached as to the <br />validity ofthese legal requirements and regulations when <br />compared with actual river behavior. <br /> <br />EARLY STUDIES <br /> <br />Perhaps the earliest comprehensive groundwater inven- <br />tory in the South Platte Valley from Denver to Julesburg <br />(F igure 1) was done by Code (1943). Some twenty years <br />later, Smith et al. (1964) published a comprehensive <br />study of groundwater resources and hydrology of the <br />South Platte between Denver and Kersey. Hurr, et al. <br />(1975) published results from the most comprehensive <br />hydrologic study of the South Platte alluvial aquifer to <br />date. <br /> <br />More recently, Leaf (1999) developed the Platte River <br />Basin Water Balance Model @ (PRBWBM). The <br />PRBWBM has been calibrated and validated in the reach <br />between Henderson and Kersey using data presented <br /> <br />Figure 1 - Location Map <br /> <br />See Hurr (1975) for a map showing the areal extent of the alluvial aquifer <br />along the South Platte River downstream from Henderson. <br /> <br /> <br />I GAR 0 E N! <br /> <br />N :- ,-L-___-_---.1 <br />. --- <br /> <br />EltPLANATION <br /> <br />x. <br />. _uu 01' ,",CUIOUfOIII <br />t VJ... -...,.. M' .~'"~'::,::, <br /> <br />___ c.oUl . I'V"'~"" I'l.UT <br />J:;;;::tTU"'",fL l IUU"'''OOI <br />100_. =:EC:CONClIfT-- TUUIoISSUIII LIllI <br /> <br />. _;'I:..:;'(E;':';:,,* * I'Ilo.JECT MUOOU....TU. <br /> <br />Page 1 <br />