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Final Draft - Preferred Storage Options Plan Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District June 8, 2000 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Southeastern Colorado Water Storage Needs Assessment Enterprise (the Enterprise), under the auspices of the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District (the District) commissioned studies to identify a plan to meet the long-term water supply needs within the District's service area. The needs for storage were identified in a 1998 report entitled SECWCD/Arkansas Basin Future Water and Storage Needs Assessment (GEl, 1998). The plan for meeting future water needs is termed the Preferred Storage Options Plan (PSOP). The studies to support preparation of the PSOP were undertaken through a joint effort by the Enterprise, the District's staff and its consultants, and Colorado Springs Utilities (CSU) and its consultants. Conduct of the joint work effort was guided by a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between the Enterprise and CSU. Most of the engineering and technical studies were completed by a consulting team under contract to CSU. This PSOP report was assembled by a consultant contracted by the District. Studies to support development of the PSOP were conducted during a l3-month period from March 1999 to April 2000. Studies were funded by CSU, the District, area water users, and the Colorado Water Conservation Board. As with the earlier water and storage needs assessment study, the Storage Study Committee (SSe) was actively involved in the process. The SSC has over 40 members representing a broad range of interests in the Arkansas River Basin. In addition io providing inputs to the study process, members of the SSC participated directly in the hydrologic modeling investigations and in evaluating financing options. Members of the SSC are acknowledged in Section 1.0 of the following report. Need for Storage Additional storage capacity is needed to meet the long-term (year 2040) raw-water supply needs of municipal entities within the District. Municipal and industrial water demands are expected to increase from 148,000 to 345,000 acre-feet (af) as the District population grows from 620,000 to 1,630,000. As municipal water demands increase, the amount of Fryingpan-Arkansas Project water available to agriculture will decrease. Currently, the Fry-Ark Project can provide an average of approximately 80,000 af, of which 25 percent is used by municipal entities. In the future, 51 percent of the Fry-Ark supply will be used by municipal users. Increasing municipal water demands, both within and outside the Basin, have resulted in permanent transfers of water from agricultural to municipal uses. As described in the storage needs assessment (GEl, 1998), one goal of the District is to do whatever is feasible from a water supply perspective to maintain or improve the agricultural economy of the District. Elements of the PSOP are designed to meet this objective while meeting the needs of municipal entities within the District. J \PROJECTS\9906I\Repons\Prel'm-ed SOP Final wpd m GEl Consultants, Inc.