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<br />CDIVI <br /> <br />development, there <br />may be some <br />continued irrigation <br />for hay or pasture for <br />domestic and/ or <br />livestock animals <br />kept on the <br />properties. BRT <br />feedback was mixed <br />on whether new <br />residential owners <br />would tend to irrigate <br />as diligently as the <br />former rancher or <br />farmer and whether <br />overall water <br />demands would <br />change as a result of <br />this new land use. <br /> <br />SWSI Phase 2 Technical Roundtable <br />Agricultural Transfer Alternatives to Permanent Dry-up <br /> <br /> <br />Figure 1 <br />Potential Changes in Irrigated Acreage by 2030 <br /> <br />5. Agricultural Transfers Involving Permanent Dry-up <br /> <br />The total water available under a change of agricultural water rights typically <br />depends on the historical CU of the water for agricultural purposes: this is a measure <br />of the water right for transfer not the gross diversions. In addition, the yield of an <br />agricultural water right may depend upon the location of the new use of the water. <br />For example, in general, if the water is to be diverted through the same ditch system <br />as historically, a transfer to M&I use may allow diversions of all of the water <br />previously diverted at the historical farm headgate, though the historic CU cannot be <br />increased. The water that may be diverted on a transfer of water from an agricultural <br />use to one out of the basin will be limited to the historical CU. Meanwhile the <br />historical return flows must be maintained; storage may be needed to ensure that <br />other water rights that historically relied on return flows are protected. After the <br />historical return flows have been replicated, it is legal for the transferred <br />"consumable" water to be used and reused to extinction. <br /> <br />There are a number of factors contributing to the practice of acquiring and <br />permanently transferring agricultural water rights to other uses by M&I interests. <br />These include: <br /> <br />. An existing, permanent water right is acquired and future uncertainty over future <br />water supply availability is reduced. <br /> <br />. Agricultural water rights generally have more senior priorities; these senior rights <br />provide a more reliable supply since the water right will be in priority for longer <br />periods than a junior or new water rights filing. Less storage is required to produce <br /> <br />DRAFT <br /> <br />9 <br /> <br />S:\MEETINGS\TECHNICAL ROUNDTABLE\TRT MEETING - SPECIFIC\AL TERNATIVE AG TRANSFERS\SWSI TRT ALTERNATIVES TO PERMANENT DRY-UP BRIEFING 9-6-05_CJEDOC <br />