C150032 El Paso Water Report - Laserfiche WebLink

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. I I are still experiencing water level declines due to the pumping of others and, ultimately, it may I be necessary to drill wells to tap deeper aquifers or to fmd alternate water suppVes. 1 As current water supplies decline at these individual residential wells, there a~e four potential options to maintain water supply availability, (a) drill separate, deeper wells, (b:) install cisterns at individual homes and have water trucked in, (c) have either individu.l.l or collective I homeowners' associations finance the construction of a community-type well or well field, I and/or (d) participate in a regional water supply distribution system. Individual residential wells are currently the cheapest source of water, since residences typically ta~ the uppermost aquifer, which minimizes the cost of drilling and the power to lift the water fro~ the aquifer to the residences. It is likely that individual residential wells will continue to ~e the preferred alternative for water supplies in rural areas until such time as thes~: uppermost! aquifers can no 1 longer support individual residential use. i I At the time when deeper aquifers have to be tapped to provide residential Jater supplies, it I may then become more economical to look at the community-type well, wh~ch would serve multiple dwellings and provide limited, centralized water service. A community-type well can provide an economy of scale by tapping a deeper aquifer with a single well, rather than several small individual wells. ! , I To serve a relatively large area of individual residences in rural areas would r~quire a regional water supply system. Given capital costs of over $8,000 per ac-ft and annual operating costs of approximately $5.00 per 1000 gallons, it is apparent that regional water supply systems would be extremely expensive to implement for individual residential use and it is ~nlikely that this type of system would ever be feasible in the low-density, rural areas of the Cotinty. I I I I Potential Water Import Projects : I The development of new, renewable water supplies in the County would lil<:ely require the import of water, as the Arkansas River Basin is fully appropriated and it! is unlikely that significant additional water supplies could be developed locally. There are ~everal potential . I water import projects that have been identified, although none of these projects: is currently at a I state of development where County water providers could reasonably as~ume that new, renewable water supplies will be available in the near future. These potent~al water import projects include (a) the marketable pool at Blue Mesa Reservoir, (b) the Baba Ranch Water . I Supply and Delivery Project, (c) the CSU Southern Delivery Pipeline, (<Ii) conversion of agricultural water rights to municipal use, either in the Arkansas River Basin or the South I I . " . E-6