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Feasibility of the <br />Town of Hillrose Water Rights Project <br />Project Sponsor <br />The Town of Hillrose (Hillrose) is a small municipality located <br />in Northeast Colorado. Hillrose as with most communities located <br />in Morgan County has experienced both problems, quality and <br />augmentation, associated with the use of groundwater as the <br />town's water supply. The water for Hillrose is supplied by one <br />tributary groundwater well. As with most wells in the South <br />Platte Basin, this well has had all the similar augmentation <br />problems associated with the current drought and its former <br />membership in the Groundwater Appropriators of the South Platte <br />(GASP). During this same time period the quality of the water <br />coming from the well has continued to decrease to the point where <br />the Town was forced to make plans for a new source of drinking <br />water for its citizens. <br />Hillrose as chosen to address these two problems separately. The <br />problem of water quality is being addressed with a dual water <br />system for the entire Town. Drinking water will be supplied to <br />the Town's 141 customers through a new distribution system and <br />better quality water from Morgan County Quality Water District <br />(MCQWD), a rural water provider located in Morgan County. This <br />project is being funded through several different grants and <br />loans but is not the focus of this CWCB application. The dual <br />water system has a projected completion date sometime this fall. <br />The augmentation problem with the well is the focus of the CWCB <br />application and this report. The well is currently augmented <br />under the Lower Platte and Beaver (LP&B) plan of operation. The <br />LP&B plan for augmentation provides for a pumping quota for each <br />of its member wells and this quota is set annually based on the <br />availability of augmentation water from the company. As with most <br />augmentation plans, the LP&B has had to reduce its quota due to <br />the extreme drought conditions experienced over the past five <br />years. The LP&B grants a pumping quota based on the number of <br />shares owned in the company. As of the first of this year, <br />Hillrose owned only 1.5 shares of LP&B. <br />Hillrose has had a maximum water use for the entire Town of 55 <br />Feasibility Study ~ <br />Hillrose Water Rights Project <br />June 2007 <br />