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Republican River Water Conselvation District January14,2008 Page 3 of 6 Agenda Item lId Water Rights At the time of the loan application the District did not own rights to ground water that could be used for the Project. The preferred alternative described below is to acquire existing rights to designated ground water and to transfer the historical consumptive use of those rights to new wells that will be conveyed by the pipeline to meet Compact obligations. In 1978, withdrawals of ground water in the Basin reached 1,040,000 AF/yr and in 2005 it was approximately 750,000 AF /yr. Impacts from ground water diversions in Colorado included in the Republican River Compact Administration - Compact Accounting averaged 25,370 AF /yr over the period 2002-2006. These impacts are primarily due to ground water diversions that occurred decades ago. Statting in 2003, Colorado has exceeded its compact allocations by an average of 11,350 AF /yr. Some reduction in the amount that Colorado has exceeded its compact allocations is expected in the future as the result of irrigated acreage retirement programs. However, it is projected that the deficit will increase gradually to 15,000 AF in 2039. The expected yield ofthe Project is 15,000 AF/yr, which should be adequate to ensure compact compliance for the 20-year period of the CWCB loan. Ogallala Aquifer - The Republican River Basin overlies the Ogallala Aquifer, a regional underground aquifer system underlying pOltions of seven states from South Dakota to the Texas panhandle, including portions of the Republican River Basin in Colorado, Nebraska, and Kansas. In 1966 the Ogallala Aquifer in the Republican River Basin in Colorado was included in the Northern High Plains (NHP) Designated Ground Water Basin. At that time, there was limited well development in the basin. However, improvements in center pivot sprinkler irrigation systems allowed the development of land that was more difficult to irrigate with t100d irrigation methods, and approximately 4,000 permits have been issued within the NHP Basin. Issuance of permits in the basin slowed during the 1980s and essentially ceased by 1990. The GWC recognized that there was limited recharge to the Ogallala Aquifer in the basin relative to the large amount of water in storage in the aquifer and authorized controlled mining of ground water in the basin based on a rate of depletion of 40% over 25 years. This was later amended to be 40% over 100 years. In 1974, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that ground water taking over a century to reach a stream was not subject to appropriation under the Colorado Constitution and could be managed separately as a designated ground water basin. At that time, no one thought that the Ogallala Aquifer had been appOltioned by the Republican River Compact or that withdrawals from the aquifer were subject to the Compact. Project Description The Stipulation allows the acquisition or construction of wells for the purpose of offsetting stream depletions in order to comply with a State's compact allocations, provided that such wells do not cause any new net depletion to stream flow either annually or long-tetro. The Stipulation also provides that augmentation plans and related accounting procedures shall be approved by the Compact Administration prior to implementation. Analysis of Alternatives 1. No action. 2. Purchase existing rights to designated ground water and transfer the historical consumptive use of those rights to Compact compliance. 3. Construct new wells based on new appropriations and/or amendments to the GWC rules and regulations to provide a water supply for Compact compliance.