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Republican River Water Conselvation District January14,2008 Page 4 of 6 Agenda Item lId Alternative 1 - No action would result in the State of Colorado exceeding its allocations under the Compact for decades into the future. The SEO will cUltail diversions within a cUltailment zone, but this will not achieve compact compliance without additional water delivered to the state line. Nebraska and Colorado will exceed their Compact allocations and therefore, Kansas will likely bring an action to enforce compliance with the Compact. No action would lead to curtailed wells and require Colorado to pay for damages for future years. Turning more than 500,000 irrigated acres in the basin into dryland farms or rangeland would have a devastating impact on the local economy. Alternative 2 (Selected) - Purchase existing rights to designated ground water used for irrigation in the NHP Designated Basin and to change those rights so they can be delivered in the Project pipeline to the NOlth Fork of the Republican River for credit to offset stream depletions pursuant to the Stipulation. A requirement of the Stipulation is that this shall not cause new net depletion to the stream. Several locations were evaluated however the aquifer north ofthe NOlth Fork is highly productive and will provide a long-term water supply for compact compliance. This alternative would also require fewer wells and reduce well construction and pipeline costs. Alternative 3 - Construct new wells that would divert ground water under the GWC rules and regulations. A variant of this alternative would be to amend the GWC rules and regulations to allow new wells to withdraw ground water in areas that are over-appropriated if the well owners in the area waive any claim of injury or consent to the construction of new wells. The retirement of rights to designated ground water under the CREP and EQIP contracts would be used to offset such depletions. Three well locations were found where unappropriated ground water is available close enough to the North Fork. The net amount of unappropriated water that would be available for the compact is approximately 7,500 AF, which is not sufficient for the entire project and would have to be combined with purchasing of existing rights to designated ground water or new wells. The pipeline distance would be considerably longer than other alternatives, and the willingness of the landowners to negotiate for well sites and pipeline easements is unknown. It was unknown whether the Compact Administration would approve such a plan. In addition, the impacts of the withdrawals would eventually have to be offset by retiring irrigated acreage. Thus, this was viewed as a short-term solution rather than a permanent solution. Selected Alternative The District will acquire rights to designated ground water that is currently used to irrigate 10,000 acres. The historical consumptive use on these lands has been estimated to be 15,000 AF /yr. These water rights will be transferred to some existing and some new high-capacity wells and will be delivered to the North Fork of the Republican River in the Project pipeline a short distance upstream from the streamflow gage at the Colorado- Nebraska state line. This alternative has a higher initial cost to acquire existing rights to designated ground water, but is a long-tenn solution for compact compliance and has several advantages. 1. It does not require an amendment of GWC rules and regulations, and the procedures for changing the use of existing rights based on historical consumptive use are established in the current GWC rules. 2. The new wells to be constructed for the Project would cause no new net depletions since pumping would be limited to the historical consumptive use of the existing rights. 3. Compact Administration approval of this alternative is considered likely, which means that construction could likely begin in late 2008, with delivery of water in mid-2009, which could prevent curtailment under the SEO's proposed Compact Rules.