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Alternative Agricultural Water Transfer Methods -Grant and Loan Program Project Summary Sheet Applicant: Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy Water Activity Name: Lower Arkansas Valley Super Ditch Company Amount Requested: $480,371 Matching Funds: Yes ($53,375) Drainage Basin: Arkansas River Water Source: Arkansas River Background The Goal. The purpose of the "Super Ditch nmpany" i to create an alternative to historical "buy-and-dry„ of irrigation water rights for M&I uses. lore specifically, the Super Ditch or~pany would create a viable alternative to historical MCI purchases, permanent transfers, and dry~up of irrigated land that would both make irrigation water rights available far municipal use and alsa preserve irrigated agriculture, the economic lifeblood and future of rural communities in the .over Arkansas Valley. The Problem. The Statewide ~Ilfater Supply initiative ~"S1JV1"} estimates that water demand in the Arkansas River Basin will increase by 98,00 acre-feet by X080. ADM, S~~SI Executive Summary, at ES-~ D Nov. X04}. S1S1 further estimates that Z,00D to 7,00D acres of additions! irrigated land will be dried up in the Arkansas River Basin as MI water providers continue to acquire and transfer agricultural water rights from outside their service area for use inside their service area. Id., at E-~ ~ - ~ ~ . This additional dry up would came on top of the more than 78,159 acres of irrigated land in the basin already dried up by the acquisition and transfer of agricultural water rights by MB~I water providers. Charles ~IIJ. Howe, The Regional Ecanomic Impacts Df Transfers of Illlater from Irrigated Agriculture ~n the Arkansas Valley of Colorado to In-Basin and but-of-Basin Non~Agricultural Uses, at 5 {Dec. , X002}. To put these numbers in perspective, SIJI~I estimated the Arkansas Basin had 5,100 irrigated acres in X504. Thus, additional M&I demands could dry up a further ~ ~.4 percent of irrigated land in the basin, on top of the X4.5 percent already dried up. In shark, the Arkansas River Basin could lase well over a quarter of its irrigated lands to Mil water providers by ~~~. Significant on-going residential developr~ent in EI Rasa, Douglas and Arapahoe counties depends on Denver Basin groundwater. Development is "raining" the ground water resources of the four aquifers, which are evidencing declining water levels, llVater providers throughout the Denver Basin are working to develop renewable water supplies to recharge the aquifers to rr~aintain v`rater levels ar~d extend aquifer life. Lovuer 'Valley irrigation water rights are principal options for this purpose ~e~, e.g., South Metro ~IVater Supply Authority, "Regional dater Master Plan'r dog?}.