PUB00048

• Year: 1992
• Title: Systems Integration as a Water Supply Source for the Denver Metropolitan Area
• CWCB Section: Water Conservation & Drought Planning
• Author: Hydrosphere Resource Consultants
• Description: Overview of water supply alternatives and suggestion for process to address future water supply needs of the Denver Metro Area
• Publications - Doc Type: Historical

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DRAFT 8/24/92, Page 7

A reasonable extrapolation of these figures results in a population of 974,000 by the
year 2035. Based upon data from the Regional Water Study these population
growth levels would result in overall northern area water supply shortfalls of about
27,000 acre-feet in the year 2035.

However, a further consideration is that different cities within the metro area have
different goals with regard to population growth and there is a considerable amount
of competition between communities for economic development and the population
growth associated with that development. Thus, in the evaluation of systems
integration and other new water supply options, it is necessary to consider not only
the future potential demand of the metro area as a whole but also the growth and
development plans of individual communities.

4. Flexibilitv in Future Planninf! -- The inherent risk and uncertainties of water supply
planning on the supply side are associated with difficulties in predicting climatic
conditions. On the demand side there is equal difficulty in predicting future
demands because of uncertainties of population and economic projections, changes
in lifestyles and water use habits, and the effectiveness of water conservation
measures. Higher than expected population growth in combination with a sev~re
drought could result in serious water shortage conditions, while the development of
a large water supply project in combination with lower than expected population
growth could result in an excessive supply with higher costs for existing consumers.

Thus, in considering systems integration opportunities, it is desirable to have the
ability to develop water supply sources incrementally with control over the timing
of development to coincide with reasonably foreseeable demands. It is also
desirable to be able to move water to different areas of demand to meet local supply
shortfalls.

5. Water Ouality Concerns -- Water supply treatment and distribution systems within
the Denver Metro Area have been designed to accommodate water from existing
high quality sources. In the evaluation of systems integration opportunities water
quality requirements must be carefully considered to determine the water quality
compatibility of each system.

II. OPTIONS FOR ADDITIONAL WATER SUPPLY

The following summary of water supply options is organized into six categories
representing different approaches to the development of new supply or increased efficiency in
the use of existing supplies. None of these water supply options can be claimed by this report
as new or original ideas; all of them are currently being pursued, to some degree, either by
individual metro area suppliers, small groups of suppliers, or as entrepreneurial endeavors by
private enterprise. Though many of these options may be achieved in time thought existing
efforts, state government involvement and greater cooperation between suppliers could
facilitate implementation of more timely solutions to immediate needs and set the stage for
addressing the long- term water supply needs of the metro area.

The water supply yield estimates (firm annual yield), as available from other studies,
have been included for each source. However, it must be recognized that the potential yield of
combinations of several water supply sources may not be equal to the sum of the individual
sources. In many cases there are linkages between water supply sources such that the
development of one source may diminish or enhance the yield of another source. For example,
Two Forks is another way of developing the same water that would be developed by New