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Final <br />SPDSS Memorandum <br />To: Ray Alvarado and Ray Bennett <br />Consumptive Use and Water Budget Technical Peer Review Meeting Attendees <br />From: Erin Wilson and Beorn Courtney - LRE <br />Ross Bethel -Ross Bethel, LLC <br />Subject: Task 81.2 -Consumptive Use and Water Budget Technical Peer Review <br />Meeting Follow-Up <br />Date: January 11, 2008 <br />Introduction <br />An SPDSS Consumptive Use and Water Budget Technical Peer Review Meeting was held on <br />September 20, 2005 requesting review of the proposed use of data and methodologies to estimate <br />potential crop consumptive use and irrigation water requirements. The volunteer participants <br />included water rights consultants, water administrators, water providers, and university <br />personnel. They were asked to review the procedures, approach, and data the Leonard Rice <br />Engineers, Inc. (LRE) team recommended for use in estimating potential crop consumptive use <br />and crop irrigation water requirements in the South Platte River basin. Meeting notes were <br />prepared in an SPDSS memorandum dated September 21, 2005 (Revised February 1, 2006, see <br />Attachment A) and distributed to all participants. <br />In 2007, Dr. Rick Allen provided an additional peer review of the SPDSS technical <br />memorandum. Dr. Allen, a professor at the University of Idaho, is a recognized expert in <br />consumptive use methods, and was the co-chair of the ASCE Task Committee on <br />Standardization of Reference ET. LRE corresponded with Dr. Allen and conducted several <br />additional investigations based upon questions he identified. Dr. Allen's review and responses to <br />his comments are provided as Attachment B. <br />In general, the reviews provided by both the Peer Review Meeting participants and Dr. Allen <br />were favorable and indicated that the SPDSS recommendations follow an approved and <br />defensible procedure for selecting appropriate data to use in the consumptive use analysis, and <br />developing and selecting appropriate calibrated crop coefficients to use with the Blaney-Criddle <br />method. The LRE team and State CDSS team greatly appreciate the input from all parties and <br />recognize that a better SPDSS product has resulted from their involvement. <br />Results of Further Investigations <br />The purpose of this memorandum is to document results from further investigations conducted in <br />response to questions and suggestions provided during the reviews, and to keep others informed <br />of subsequent findings. Most of the review process has concentrated on the procedures and <br />recommendations provided in the SPDSS Task 59.1 Technical Memorandum -Develop Locally <br />Calibrated Blaney-Criddle Crop Coefficients, and fall into the following categories: <br />Page 1 of 7 <br />