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0 Basic Description: <br />Water management alternatives consist primarily of programs resulting in reductions in <br />consumptive use, or in the case of on -farm changes in irrigation techniques, reductions in <br />return flows that do not return to the Platte River above the critical habitat. The programs <br />evaluated assume the water rights involved are dependent on storage rights in Lake <br />McConaughy. In general, an irrigation district or farmer with storage rights in Lake <br />McConaughy will be paid to reduce their diversions through conservation cropping, <br />deficit irrigation, land fallowing, or changes in irrigation techniques. The reduction in <br />consumptive use will likely be added to the EA when storage space is available and <br />released during times of shortage at the critical habitat. Although these programs could <br />include reductions in natural flow diversions, it will be more difficult to insure protection. <br />The EA may not always be available to re- regulate downstream reductions in <br />consumptive use, however, the opportunity for an exchange is greater if the project is <br />associated with a water right dependent on storage. <br />Option 1: Conservation cropping. Consists of a voluntary program to encourage the <br />conversion of a portion of commonly irrigated, water intensive crops to production of less <br />water intensive crops or crop rotations also found in the local area. Based upon local <br />cropping pattern information, the conversion from continuous corn cropping to an <br />alternating rotation of corn and soybeans was evaluated in Reaches 16 through 19. <br />Option 2: Deficit irrigation. Consists of a voluntary program to reduce irrigation water <br />use. This analysis focuses on reducing irrigation on corn acres by six inches per acre in <br />exchange for incentive payments. <br />Option 3: Land fallowing. Consists of a voluntary program under which farmers agree <br />not to irrigate certain lands in exchange for payment. To effectively reduce consumptive <br />use, this fallowed acreage must be over and above historical fallowing practices for <br />purposes of land conservation. <br />Option 4: On -farm changes in irrigation techniques. Consists of a voluntary program <br />aimed at improving irrigation efficiency. These measures focus on reducing return flows <br />from farms rather than reducing consumptive use. In Reaches 17, 18, and 19 a large <br />proportion of return flows do not return to the river above the critical habitat. These <br />flows either accrete to the groundwater mound in the area, travel into the Republican <br />Basin, or return to the Platte River below the critical habitat. This circumstance, along <br />with the proximity of these reaches to the critical habitat, makes this area the most <br />economically and hydrologically favorable for the implementation of on -farm <br />improvements to irrigation techniques. <br />For Options 1 through 3 the amount of water available to the Program consists of the <br />reduction in consumptive use, whereas, the amount available under option 4 consists of <br />the reduction in return flows that do not return to the Platte River above the critical <br />habitat. <br />\ \DN00 \E- DRIVE\PROJECTS\Platte \Work Products\Task 9 \wapc report (Version 7).doc 23 <br />