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Meeting Water Demand Without Gunnison Water Second, Denver could secure significant additional water through re-use of the 120,000 AFA of return flows that will pour from wastewater treatment facilities by 2045.151 If these return flows are re-purified and recycled through the normal distri- bution system, only about 35% of the water would actually be consumed. By recy- cling return flows over and over again, losing 35% each cycle, 120,000 AFA eventual- ly could yield 300,000 AFA of supply. Third, the conjunctive use scenario (capturing wet years' surplus water in underground storage) depicted in the MWSI projected a potential yield of up to 60,000 AFA in the south Metro area.15' More recent modeling efforts estimate a some- what smaller yield, namely 27,000 AFA. However, water providers may be able to use some of this yield to extinction, as the water used will originate mostly with re- usable supplies. As a result, in our MWSI-plus scenario we believe that conjunctive use may develop 40,000 AFA or roughly 50% more than the first-use amount. Fourth, for "dry-year leasing" and other interruptible supply arrangements (whereby cities lease water from irrigators to get through dry years or stages when other supplies are being developed), the MWSI suggests that 190,000 AFA could be made available in times of need. But there is enormous additional potential here, too. The gross volume of water used for irrigation in the South Platte basin is nearly 3,000,000 AFA, of which 495,000 AFA are potential dry-year supplies for agriculture with diversions above Greeley.'" Potentially a great deal of these supplies could be available for interruptible supply. Fifth, the MWSI also includes an estimate that "other system integration opportunities" have the potential to supply 20,000 AFA. The MWSI later notes that these types of creative management practices could produce up to 50,000 AFA. The MWSI again offers a range, rather than an absolute, for quantities of supply options. Sixth, the MWSI did not include an estimate of the gains in storage capacity attributable to repairs and improvements of existing dams serving the Denver Metro area. A recent study by the Colorado State Engineer indicated that these measures might develop about 132,000 AFA of new storage capacity in Colorado."' How much of this capacity might be available for use by Front Range cities is unknown. Supply-side Measures Conjunctive use Reuse of water Interruptible supply Other system integration Dam repair/improvement MWSI Projection MWSI Plus 60,000 AFA 40,000 AFA 120,000 AFA 300,000 AFA 190,000 AFA 190,000 AFA 20,000 AFA 50,000 AFA n/a X AFA Additional water conservation Outdoor water savings n/a 100,000 AFA Indoor water savings n/a 50,000 AFA TOTALS: 390,000 AFA 730,000 + X AFA Gunnison Basin Water • 35