Drought & Water Management

• Title: What the Current Drought Means for the Future of Water Management in Colorado
• Date: 1/1/2003
• Description: 2002 Drought Impact Report
• Basin: Statewide
• Drought Mitigation - Doc Type: Reports

VI. An Integrated Approach to Meet Colorado's Future Water Demands
and Drought Management Needs
This section outlines our view of the three elements of Colorado's water future: 1) conservation
and demand management; 2) municipal- agricultural cooperation; and 3) supply integration,
management, and development. However, we first discuss the cost range estimates for a variety
of water management options. We conclude this section by presenting the concept of an annual
water supply reliability report, an accounting to customers on the status of utilities' systems
current and expected future performance.
A. Range of Costs for a Variety of Water Management Options
Cost effectiveness, defined in terms of dollars per acre -foot of reliable yield, is an important
consideration in water supply development and water demand management. The costs
associated with various water supply development options and water conservation measures can
range from less than $1,000 to over $20,000 per acre -foot of yield. While the cost effectiveness
of a given supply project or demand management strategy will be influenced by project- specific
and utility- specific factors, some general observations can be made regarding the relative cost
effectiveness of different types of options. Denver Water, as part of its Integrated Resource
Planning process, developed preliminary cost estimates for a wide range of demand management
and supply development options that it is considering (see Table VI. 1). These estimates may or
may not be representative of these options in other settings, but they are illustrative of costs that
water users face. The costs do not incorporate all mitigation and they do not reflect the financial
benefits of phasing that are associated with small projects. For the most part, the low end of the
range in each category represents the costs associated with the proposals we advance below.
Table VIA. The Range of Cost Estimates for a Variety of Water Management
Options (from Denver Water IRP)
f
i T y o Pray
€ € '
fast Rng+° per o
Water Conservation
$4 to $8,000
Acquisition/Change of Irrigation Rights
$700 to $12,000
System Refinements
$700 to $16,000
Reservoir Enlargement
$1,400 to $10,000
Exchange /Augmentation
$4,600 to $10,200
Conjunctive Use
$7,400
Nonpotable Reuse
$800
New Transbasin Diversions
$4,300 to $11,700
New Reservoirs
$5,300 to $19,500
Indirect Potable Reuse
$14,000 to $16,000
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