PUB00053

• Year: 1999
• Title: Metropolitian Water Supply Investigation Final Report
• Author: Hydrosphere Resource Consultants
• Description: Metropolitian Water Supply Investigation Final Report
• Publications - Doc Type: Water Resource Studies

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Metropolitan Water Supply Investigation

MWSI Results

This region has ready access to water supplies from the South Platte River and Clear
Creek and a relatively high percentage of the region's water supplies come from
transbasin imports, primarily from the Colorado River Basin, via Denver's and Aurora's
water systems. Providers in the region own most of the senior water rights and storage
facilities on these stream systems within the region. Municipal water supply in the region
is heavily influenced by the Denver Water system, which serves the City and County of
Denver and provides full or partial water supply to over 90 other suppliers.

Although much of this region is situated over a portion of the Denver Basin aquifers, the
region relies almost completely on surface water supplies. There is relatively little
agricultural water use remaining in the region.

3.1.1.2. North Service Area Region

This region consists of Boulder, Larimer, Logan, Morgan, Sedgwick, Washington and
Weld Counties. The region contains more than 50 municipal water providers and rural
domestic water districts including Fort Collins, Boulder, Longmont, Loveland, Greeley,
Lafayette, Louisville, Superior, Broomfield and Fort Morgan.

This region has ready access to surface waters of Boulder Creek, the St. Vrain River, the
Big Thompson River, the Cache la Poudre River and the South Platte River below
Denver. Water providers within this region also have access to water from the Colorado-
Big Thompson (CBT) and Windy Gap projects and most providers rely to some degree
on water from these projects.

The North region relies almost completely on surface water supplies including tributary
groundwater, and relatively little of the region is located over significant parts of the
Denver Basin aquifer. Agriculture has historically accounted for the vast majority of
water use in this region and will continue to comprise the bulk of the region's water use
in the future. Because of the legal availability ofCBT and Windy Gap water and the
large amount and proximity of agricultural water, municipal water supplies are relatively
plentiful in this region compared to the Central, South and West Slope headwater regions.

The Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District (Northern), along with its Municipal
Subdistrict, plays a leadership role in regional water supply policy and planning. During
recent years there has been a great deal of concern about pending and potential future
transfers of agricultural water rights from areas within the North Region to cities in the
northern tier of the Central Region. In response to these concerns, Northern has
convened a Northern Regional Water Coalition in order to conduct studies and policy
discussions to evaluate current and future water needs within the North Region. Northern
has also adopted policies to limit the transfer of water from the Colorado-Big Thompson
and Windy Gap projects to areas outside of District and Subdistrict boundaries, and to
discourage the transfer of native base supplies outside of this region.

Nonetheless, the North region is a significant potential water supply source for metro
Denver area water providers who can legally acquire existing irrigation rights and new

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Prepared for the Colorado Water Conservation Board, Colorado Department of Natural Resources by
Hydrosphere Resource Consultants. 1002 Walnut Street, Suite 200. Boulder. CO 80302