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Alternative Agricultural Water Transfer Methods -Grant Application Form <br />January 2008 <br />include alfalfa, corn, sugar beets, sorghum, barley and beans, and headgate deliveries to the farms have ranged <br />from 7,115 to 22,797 ac-ftlyr for the period 1996-2006. Supplemental water provided by junior wells has ranged <br />from 132 to 424 ac-ft/yr for the same period. A full water supply has been provided to the PWSD fields every <br />year for the period of record (1996-2006). <br />Cropping systems in the South Platte Valley near Iliff, Colorado are dominated by two crops, corn and <br />alfalfa. Corn production makes up about 40 percent of the irrigated land in the area. The majority of this corn is <br />produced for grain, with average yields of 175 bushels per acre (bulac). A small percentage of the corn is <br />harvested for silage, with an average yield of 17 Tlac. The second largest crop is alfalfa produced for hay, <br />making up about 3 5 percent of irrigated land, with average yields of 5.8 T/ac. An additional 8 percent of <br />irrigated land is used for hay crops other than alfalfa, most commonly grassy-type hay crops with an average <br />yield of 2.5 T/ac. Thus, corn and all hay crops make up more than 80 percent of the irrigated crop production in <br />the area. Other important irrigated crops in the area are winter wheat, dry edible beans, and sugarbeets. <br />d) Information regarding the location of the new water use(s) that will be served by transferred water <br />including the estimated number ofusers/taps and/or uses served. <br />If the research on the PWSD farms is successful, the point of use for consumptive use water removed from <br />the farms would be the PWSD service area, and likely other south Denver metropolitan service areas and northern <br />E1 Paso County as well. Future water demands at Parker are expected to be 31,775 ac-ftlyr, serving 45,394 single <br />family equivalent (SFE) taps, according to the latest PWSD Water Master Plan. The recent South Metro Water <br />Supply Authority Regional Master Plan, which includes the water needs for 13 water providers in Arapahoe and <br />Douglas County, identifies a cumulative demand of 116,700 ac-ftlyr at build-out. These values are inclusive of <br />Parker's demand. Several entities in northern E1 Paso County are also interested in this project and they <br />cumulatively have a projected build-out demand of approximately 8,300 ac-ft. Clearly, there is a demand for <br />additional water supplies in the south Denver metropolitan area. All of the transferred agricultural water would be <br />used to support municipal and industrial demands. <br />Initial planning studies have identified the likely point of delivery to the metro area as Rueter-Hess <br />Reservoir. Water would be delivered by pipeline from the farms and then Rueter-Hess would serve as a hub for <br />distribution of water supplies to entities throughout the south metro area and northern E1 Paso County as well. As <br />part of this project, the initial planning study for delivery of water to the Front Range will be a deliverable. <br />e) Socio-economic characteristics of the area such as population, employment and land use. <br />CSU. <br />The following Socio-economic data have been provided by Dr. James Pritchett, agricultural economist at <br />Economic Demo rah phics <br />Annual value of sales and services of the Lower South Platte Basin (Morgan, Logan and Sedgwick <br />Counties) is $3,372 million, with all agriculture industries together comprising 25 percent of this value. <br />Table 1 in Exhibit E shows the top 10 sectors in the basin, in terms of dollars of output. The Lower South <br />Platte Basin accounts for approximately one percent of the state's employment. Employment and <br />earnings are concentrated in agricultural and related industries. According to the U. S. Department of <br />Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average unemployment rate in the Lower South Platte Basin in <br />9