C150320 Feasibility Study - Laserfiche WebLink

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Ground Water Rights Appraisal Page 4 of 8 March – 2011 – Project #1151TWD03 © Leonard Rice Engineers, Inc. exchange (Decree 87CW300). Therefore, the ground water rights are legally available for any use the TWSD would like after filing for a Change of Ownership with the Water Court. The Ranch is physically adjacent to the north boundary of TWSD (Figure 1). With the inclusion of easements in the purchase agreement it makes the use of the gro und water rights physically possible for TWSD. Figure 2 shows the Denver Basin Aquifer wells with reported yie ld, from the SEO Master Well List, that are located within a one township radius of TWSD and the R anch. A review of the State Engineer’s Office (SEO) Master Well List shows that there are a pproximately 100 wells with reported well yields. The Denve r Aquifer reported well yields range from 15 to 300 gpm. We estimate that the well yields at the Ranch will be approximatel y 30 to 60 gpm. The Arapahoe Aquifer reported well yields range from 10 to 750 gpm. Due to the proximity of the TWSD Arapahoe Aquifer wells, we estimate that the well yield will be similar between 50 to 90 gpm. In a 1984 letter report concerning the Ranch, Curt Wells estimated t he well yield to be 100 gpm for the Arapahoe Aquifer wells. The Laramie‐Fox Hills Aquifer reported well yields range from 10 to 450 gpm. We estimate that the well yield for the Laramie‐Fox Hil ls Aquifer at the Ranch will be between 20 to 80 gpm. At this point in time, alternatives for a renewable water suppl y are not available to TWSD or are too expensive to develop compared to expanding ground water develop ment into the Ranch. TWSD does not have the treatment plan ts or infrastructure for a rene wable source. Therefore, developing new ground water rights are the most economic way to expand the TWSD water supply. The highest and best use of the ground water rights is for muni cipal and residential use and for augmentation purposes. 8.0 APPROACHES TO VALUE The approaches to valuing the ground water rights that were con sidered are historic sales evaluation and value to others. A historical sales evaluation is the comparison of the water ri ghts in question to historical sales of similar type. There a re two historical sale s that are comparab le to the Ranch ground water rights as summarized in Table 3.