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Purpose <br /> The Union Ditch Company intends to develop a water recharge project for the purposes <br /> of supplying well augmentation water to the South Platte River. The purpose of this <br /> report is to identify and evaluate potential recharge structures as well as to recommend <br /> the methodologies to be used in the management and administration of the recharge <br /> project. More specifically, this report will discuss operational procedures such as <br /> measurement, calculations, and accounting. This study also recommends a general plan <br /> for implementing the project. <br /> Introduction <br /> Recharge projects are being developed by irrigation enterprises in the South Platte River <br /> Basin for purposes of replacing out of priority stream depletions caused by the pumping <br /> of tributary irrigation wells. According to Colorado State Law, out of priority depletions <br /> caused by tributary ground water withdrawal must be augmented to the river in the <br /> appropriate quantity, time, and location so as to not negatively impact more senior water <br /> rights. Recharge projects are a manageable way of providing replacement water for <br /> ground water depletions. <br /> The Union Ditch Company submitted an application for the approval of an augmentation <br /> plan (Case No. 03 CW 404) in December 2003. The augmentation application indicates <br /> the intent to develop various recharge structures within the Union Ditch service area to <br /> replace or augment ground water depletions. <br /> An application for water rights was also filed by the Union Ditch Company in Case No. <br /> 03 CW 404. Water that is available through this new junior appropriation, and any other <br /> additional water sources that can be used for recharge, will be distributed through the <br /> Union Ditch canal and into recharge ponds. Seepage that occurs from this distribution <br /> (both through the canal itself and recharge ponds) will recharge the aquifer and <br /> eventually return to the river, in a time lagged manner, where it will be used to augment <br /> stream depletions. In this study, the term "recharge structure" includes both recharge <br /> ponds and recharge that occurs through the canal itself in defined canal reaches. <br /> Description of Proposed Recharge Structures <br /> Location <br /> Figure 1 shows the location of the recharge structures proposed by the Union Ditch <br /> Company. Tables 1 and 2 provide a listing of these recharge structures. All proposed <br /> recharge structures are located within or near the Union Ditch service area, which is <br /> primarily located southeast of the City of Greeley. <br /> Hydrogeologv <br /> The proposed recharge structures are overlying an alluvial aquifer, which is hydraulically <br /> connected to the South Platte River. The movement of ground water into or out of the <br /> alluvial aquifer has direct influence on the surface water flow in the South Platte River. <br /> Aqua Engineering, Inc. Recharge Project Potential <br /> February 17, 2004 - 2- <br />