Arkansas - Upper Ark WCD Hydrologic Water Balance Study_Application

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Water Supply Reserve Account- Grant Application Form Form Revised May 2007 Future rg owth plans: Future growth plans center around meeting increasing demand for water, and dealing with projected climate change. Both support studies of ground water supply availability. Two factors drive increasing demand. The first factor is projected population growth in the Upper Arkansas of 72% between 2000 and 2030 according to the Colorado Statewide Water Supply Initiative (SWSI 2006). The second factor is significant increased demand for augmentation water due to the 1994 promulgation by the State of Colorado of the "Amended Rules and Regulations Governing Well Use in the Arkansas Basin" in response to the Kansas vs. Colorado suit. Climate change projections are that the spring pulse will shift earlier. The Colorado Climate Change Report projects warming in Colorado of 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit by 2025 relative to the 1950-1999 baseline (Colorado Water Conservation Board [CWCB] 2008). For instance, between 1978 and 2004, the spring pulse (the onset of stream flow from melting snow) in Colorado shifted earlier by two weeks. To deal with increasing demand for water, and projected climate change, UAWCD is: (a) Providing water to the Town of Buena Vista through an integrated water management plan; (b) Enlarging / rehabilitating two high mountain reservoirs at a cost of -$1.8 million; (c) Expanding its geographic area for augmentation water; (d) Investing -$815,000 over the next two years for data collection platforms (dcps) at 15 locations; (e) Collaborating with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Colorado Water Science Center in Pueblo to conduct a hydrologic water balance study of the Upper Arkansas Basin. This grant application relates to the UAWCD/USGS study. Because many components of a water balance study are also components needed to analyze climate trends, the study will support future growth by anticipating climate change. The study goal is to quantify surface water and ground water, especially ground water recharge, to characterize the interaction between surface and ground water. Study results can be used to estimate the effects of changes in water use or climate on the availability and sustainability of ground water resources. The study builds on two prior USGS studies in the Upper Arkansas basin: • 1982-1984 Water Resources Appraisal of the Upper Arkansas River Basin from Leadville to Pueblo, Colorado (Crouch, Thomas M., 1984; USGS Water Resources Investigation Report 82- 4114) estimated that aquifer storaqe in the upper 200 feet of saturated material in the Buena Vista- Salida basin was 3.8M acre feet (a.f.), and • 2000-2003 Hydrogeology and Quality of Ground Water in the Upper Arkansas River Basin from Buena Vista to Salida, Colorado (Watts, Kenneth R., 2005, USGS Water Resources Investigation Report 2005-5179) identified drainable water in the upper 300 feet of alluvial, basin-fill, and glacial deposits of 472,000 a.f. CWCB funding for this project will leverage -$133,000 in federal USGS funds for the current study (Phase I) and increase the potential to leverage federal USGS funds of a similar amount for each of Phase II and Phase III in the Upper Arkansas basin: Phase I: Buena Vista-Salida Basin in Chaffee County (delineated roughly by the Granite gage at the north and the Wellsville gage at the south) Phase II: Leadville Basin in Lake County (to the north of Phase I) Phase III; Wet Mountain Valley Basin in Custer and Fremont County (to the south of Phase I) Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District (UAWCD) Page 4 of 42