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<br />1 <br /> <br />Metropolitan Water Supply Investigation <br /> <br />MWSI Results <br /> <br />heavily upon storage because most of the remaining native supply occurs only during <br />periods of high flows. <br /> <br />This source constitutes approximately 18% of the South Platte Basin's existing municipal <br />water supply. Future opportunities for additional development of native South Platte <br />flows will require some form of additional storage. Storage opportunities include new <br />surface storage reservoirs, enlargements of existing surface reservoirs, reallocation of <br />space in flood control reservoirs and groundwater storage via recharge. <br /> <br />3.1.4.2. In-Basin Agricultural Transfers <br /> <br />This source includes water supplies derived from acquisition of water supplies originally <br />used for irrigation purposes within the South Platte Basin. As Front Range cities began <br />to develop, they typically acquired irrigation rights that diverted within or adjacent to <br />their urban service areas. More recently, municipal providers have acquired irrigation <br />rights on a larger scale, often changing the location of use of those rights by several <br />miles. As an example, over 30,000 acre feet of irrigation rights in the South Park area of <br />the Upper South Platte Basin have been acquired and changed to municipal use by metro <br />Denver area providers, principally Aurora and Thornton. As another example, the <br />Colorado-Big Thompson project, completed in the 1950's, originally provided <br />supplemental water supplies primarily to agricultural users within the South Platte Basin. <br />Over the last 40 years, a significant amount of this supply has been acquired and changed <br />to municipal use in accordance with the policies and rules of the Northern Colorado <br />Water Conservancy District. <br /> <br />This source constitutes approximately 25% of South Platte Basin's existing municipal <br />water supply. Future opportunities for additional in-basin agricultural transfers largely <br />exist in the Northern Region, which is where most of the remaining irrigated agriculture <br />is located. <br /> <br />3.1.4.3. Trans-Basin Imports <br /> <br />This source includes supplies imported from the Colorado, Arkansas and North Platte <br />River basins. Transbasin import of water into the South Platte Basin for municipal <br />purposes began in 1936 with the completion of the Moffat Tunnel. Existing transbasin <br />diversion projects providing municipal and industrial supplies to the South Platte Basin <br />include the Colorado-Big Thompson and Windy Gap projects; Denver's Roberts Tunnel <br />and Moffat Tunnel collection systems; Aurora's diversions from the Homestake, Twin <br />Lakes and Busk-Ivahoe projects via the Otero pump station; the Grand River Ditch: the <br />Berthoud Pass Ditch: the Boreas Pass Ditch: and the Vidler tunnel. Transbasin diversions <br />from the Colorado basin into the South Platte Basin currently average about 430,000 <br />acre-feet per year. About 38% of this amount, or about 162,000 acre-feet, is diverted for <br />municipal and industrial purposes within the metro Denver area. <br /> <br />Imported water currently provides approximately 30% of the South Platte Basin's <br />municipal water supply. Supplies from this source are expected to increase in the future <br />through more intensive use of existing water rights and facilities. New storage capacity, <br /> <br />26 <br /> <br />Prepared fOf the Colorado Water Conservation Board, Colorado Department of~atural Resources by <br />Hydrosphere Resource Consultants. 1002 Walnut Street, Suite 200, Boulder, CO 80302 <br />