A Report of Water Pollution in the South Platte River Basin February 1953

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USES OF WATER RESOURCES An estimated 2,800,000 acre -feet of water per year are supplied from surface and ground sources for domestic and industrial supplies, and irrigation. These waters also serve for watering of livestock, fishing, and other recreational purposes, development of hydroelectric power and the removal and ultimate disposal of municipal and industrial wastes. Water contributes much to the natural scenery of the region, and is used extensively for almost all purposes except navigation, Conservation has permitted a very high degree of water use development. Provision for an adequate domestic and industrial surface water supply to serve 137.89 14.G.D. to about 633,000 people residing in 28 communities has been a major problem. Approximately 75 percent of the domestic water consumers are supplied through the Denver public system {table 4)a At the present time about 30 percent of the Denver supply is obtained by transmountain diversion via the Moffat Tunnel. The re- mainder is taken from the South Platte River and from Cherry and Bear Creeks, Twenty -seven other communities located in mountainous regions or within a short distance of mountain streams, with an aggregate popu- lation of about 152,000, also obtain their water supply from streams or surface impoundments (Ylap No. 2). Zoo public water supplies are taken directly from streams in the plains regions, probably because streams have unreliable flows, contain excessive concentrations of minerals,, or are highly polluted. Surface water supplies for the most part are ob- tained from mountain streams not subject to excessive pollution. hunici- palities of the South Platte Basin use about 258,000 acre -feet of water annually with about 225,000 acre -feet of it derived from surface sources and the remainder from ground supplies. Forty -nine municipalities (table 5) obtain their supplies from wells and serve 62,000 people 12.10 M.G.D. Because of the difficulty of obtaining adequate private water supplies industries usually are served by municipal systems. However, some of the major industrial water users, such as sugar refineries, have their own wells or pump water from irrigation ditches. The water requirements of industry not connected to municipal systems are esti- mated at 50,000 acre -feet annually. Irrigation requires the greatest volume of water. It has been estimated that 1,405,000 acres were under irrigation in 1944, when 2,087,000 acre -feet of water was used. Undoubtedly, more water would have been utilized had it been available. This acreage has not been materially increased. It is anticipated that when completed the Colorado -Big Thompson transmountain diversion will supply approximately 260,000 additional acre -feet of water for irrigation and other purposes below Platteville, Colorado. If the Blue -South Platte project is con- structed an additional 430,000 acre -feet annually, diverted from the western slope, will become available for use in the area from the North Fork of the South Platte to Fort Lupton, Colorado, and will add about 49,000 acre -feet annually to the Denver municipal supply. 15