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Metropolitan Water Supply Investigation MWSI Results <br /> This region has ready access to water supplies from the South Platte River and Clear <br /> Creek and a relatively high percentage of the region's water supplies come from <br /> transbasin imports, primarily from the Colorado River Basin, via Denver's and Aurora's <br /> water systems. Providers in the region own most of the senior water rights and storage <br /> facilities on these stream systems within the region. Municipal water supply in the region <br /> is heavily influenced by the Denver Water system,which serves the City and County of <br /> Denver and provides full or partial water supply to over 90 other suppliers. <br /> Although much of this region is situated over a portion of the Denver Basin aquifers, the <br /> region relies almost completely on surface water supplies. There is relatively little <br /> agricultural water use remaining in the region. <br /> 3.1.1.2. North Service Area Region <br /> This region consists of Boulder, Larimer, Logan, Morgan, Sedgwick, Washington and <br /> Weld Counties. The region contains more than 50 municipal water providers and rural <br /> domestic water districts including Fort Collins, Boulder, Longmont,Loveland, Greeley, <br /> Lafayette, Louisville, Superior, Broomfield and Fort Morgan. <br /> This region has ready access to surface waters of Boulder Creek, the St. Vrain River, the <br /> Big Thompson River, the Cache la Poudre River and the South Platte River below <br /> Denver. Water providers within this region also have access to water from the Colorado- <br /> Big Thompson(CBT) and Windy Gap projects and most providers rely to some degree <br /> on water from these projects. <br /> The North region relies almost completely on surface water supplies including tributary <br /> groundwater, and relatively little of the region is located over significant parts of the <br /> Denver Basin aquifer. Agriculture has historically accounted for the vast majority of <br /> water use in this region and will continue to comprise the bulk of the region's water use <br /> in the future. Because of the legal availability of CBT and Windy Gap water and the <br /> large amount and proximity of agricultural water, municipal water supplies are relatively <br /> plentiful in this region compared to the Central, South and West Slope headwater regions. <br /> The Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District (Northern), along with its Municipal <br /> Subdistrict, plays a leadership role in regional water supply policy and planning. During <br /> recent years there has been a great deal of concern about pending and potential future <br /> transfers of agricultural water rights from areas within the North Region to cities in the <br /> northern tier of the Central Region. In response to these concerns,Northern has <br /> convened a Northern Regional Water Coalition in order to conduct studies and policy <br /> discussions to evaluate current and future water needs within the North Region. Northern <br /> has also adopted policies to limit the transfer of water from the Colorado-Big Thompson <br /> and Windy Gap projects to areas outside of District and Subdistrict boundaries, and to <br /> discourage the transfer of native base supplies outside of this region. <br /> Nonetheless, the North region is a significant potential water supply source for metro <br /> Denver area water providers who can legally acquire existing irrigation rights and new <br /> 17 <br /> Prepared for the Colorado Water Conservation Board,Colorado Department of Natural Resources by <br /> Hydrosphere Resource Consultants,1002 Walnut Street,Suite 200,Boulder,CO 80302 <br />