South Platte - Ducks Unlimited_Weld Cnty School District Application_BRT_Final

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Water Supply Reserve Account -Grant Application Form Form Revised May 2007 4. Please provide an overview of the water project or activity to be funded including - type of activity, statement of what the activity is intended to accomplish, the need for the activity, the problems and opportunities to be addressed, expectations of the participants, why the activity is important, the service area or geographic location, and any relevant issues etc. Please include any relevant TABOR issues that may affect the Contracting Entity. Please refer to Part 2 of Criteria and Guidance document for additional detail on information to include. The project site is located on a 10-acre tract of land owned by the WCSD 1/4 mile north of the town of Gilcrest, a town in Weld County located 50 miles north and east of Denver, Colorado and 12 miles south of Greeley, Colorado. The site is currently irrigated cropland serviced by surface water delivery from the Farmer's Independent Ditch Ditch and an alluvial SPR groundwater well augmented by the Groundwater Management Subdistrict (GMS). The site is located a mile east of the South Platte River. Please see Exhibit 2 (p. 22, for a map of the project site. The third largest county in Colorado, Weld County covers an area of 4,004 square miles in north central Colorado. Greeley, the county seat and largest city, is located near the project site in the west central part of the county and contains almost half the county's population. In the past 10 years, southern Weld County has seen some of the highest rates of development in the state and is located in the heart of a basin that is projected to see the arrival of nearly 2 million people in the next 20 years. This translates into an estimated increased demand of 409,700 acre feet of water per year in the basin for M&I and SSI uses alone (SWSI Phase 1 Report). SWSI anticipates that 146,500 acre feet of this demand will be met through the development of water conservation strategies and projects in the Northern sub-basin, wherein this project is located. This project proposes the delivery of a model, high quality recharge wetland near the South Platte River in Weld County, Colorado. Low-level embankements will pool water secured from two sources, one right procured by the CCWCD for their augmentation plan and another right to be procured by the WCSD to meet their substitute supply needs. This pooled water will provide two benefits: First, recharge of the SPR alluvial aquifer; and, Second, the provision of approximately 2 surface acres of flooded wetland habitat for waterfowl during the migration and wintering periods. This project is consistent with the strategies identified by the BRT to meet the needs in the Northern subbasin of the SPR. It is also consistent with continental migratory bird conservation plans. Recharge projects as part of a program to augment SPR flows through the alluvial aquifer are a widely accepted and dependable technique for meeting the demands of water users along the river. Recently, partnerships between traditional water users and wildlife interests have been forged to increase the utility of these recharge projects as wetland developments and wildlife habitat projects. DU-fostered partnerships have become the standard for recharge projects addressing both wildlife and water conservation needs. DU has always extolled the significant benefits that recharge wetlands provide to migrating and wintering birds. Many of the existing recharge projects found on the Platte River in Colorado have had some share of wildlife money furnished due to the habitat benefits provided by these shallow water wetlands. Recent pilot studies conducted by the Rocky Mountain Bird Observatory and the Colorado Division of Wildlife indicate that select recharge projects regularly hosted between 10,000 and 16,000 individuals of 20 different waterfowl species on a daily basis. 8