7777

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 7777
• Author: Ward, R. C.
• Title: Proceedings 1993 Colorado Water Convention, Front Range Water Alternatives and Transfer of Water from One Area of the State to Another, January 4-5, 1993, Denver, Colorado.
• USFW Year: 1993.
• USFW - Doc Type: \
• Copyright Material: NO

On the West Slope -- coordinated operation of the over one-
million acre-feet of storage that is controlled by the Bureau of
Reclamation, Denver or the River District, so that instream flow needs
can be better met, and downstream calls can be better met in a way as
to increase the net divertible supply to the East Slope and the net
water available to West Slope users. Right now those reservoirs are
operated by separate entities, and full coordination of their
operations doesn't yet occur.

Optimized use of flood control reservoirs -- In the '60s the
Corps of Engineers built three reservoirs in the South Platte Basin
Bear Creek, Cherry Creek and Chatfield Reservoirs -- to protect the
region from catastrophic floods that occur in the late spring and
summer months in this area. Recently the Corps has determined that
not all the capacity of those reservoirs is needed for flood
protection. There may be some 40,000-41,000 acre-feet of space within
those reservoirs that may not be needed for flood control. In
addition, there is space above that 41,000 that may be available on a
seasonal basis. Using that flood control space to help achieve our
water supply goals through long-term carryover or seasonal carryover
of water can be a major part of system integration, and that has to be
looked at.

Conjunctive use of surface water and groundwater systems -- Right
now we have the majority of the region getting its water exclusively
from surface water systems --diversions and storage reservoirs. You
have another significant portion of the region getting its water
primarily from groundwater systems. I don't know of any examples
right now where the two are used in a conjunctive manner in a way to
conserve groundwater and to supplement surface water during dry years.
That is a concept that, if implemented on a large scale, could
significantly increase the supply available to the Front Range. You
have the Denver Basin Aquifer underlying most of the Denver region
with vast amounts of nontributary water. Most people are reluctant
to rely on that as an exclusive source of supply because it is thought
to be finite, and that might be a wise policy decision. But there has
not been enough examination made of using that vast, immense
nontributary source as a dry-year standby supply. It could be used in
conjunction with surface water supplies in a way to increase the
overall yield of the municipal system.

All of these ideas will require the final element that we talked
about in our report -- advanced information-based solutions. We have
now developed our river systems with innumerable diversions, wells,
reservoirs, and treatment plants to where the integrated, coordinated
and opt~al management of them will require more advanced information
systems than we have available to us now. The Water Conservation
Board and the Legislature have moved in the direction of developing
such an advanced decision support system in the Colorado River Basin
to help the state look at both inter- and intra-state water management
issues on that side. I would suggest that there is as much need, if
not more need, for such a system in the South Platte basin to look at
management of water systems on this side.

Those are basically the points that are covered in the study. As
I said, it was meant as a discussion piece to present ideas on a

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