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

Metropolitan Water Supply Investigation

MWSI Results

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under a first use arrangement with downstream irrigation rights, However, it is possible
that the yield of a conjunctive use project could be enhanced by considering potential first
use arrangements as another source of surface supply,

3.2.1.4. Groundwater and Aquifer Availability

Two potential groundwater resources were identified as part of the MWSI's study of
conjunctive use concepts: the Denver Basin nontributary aquifer system and the Beebe
Draw alluvial aquifer system, These two aquifer systems are the largest groundwater
resources within reasonable proximity to the metro Denver area,

There are enormous differences between these two aquifer systems from the perspective
of a conjunctive use project for the metro Denver area. While both aquifers are
essentially nontributary with respect to South Platte River surface flows, the Denver
Basin aquifers are much deeper, geographically much more extensive (underlying about
6,800 square miles compared to 300 square miles for the Beebe Draw), and have much
more water in storage, Artificial recharge of the Denver Basin aquifers would require use
of well injection, while the Beebe Draw could be recharged via surface ponds, The water
quality of the Denver Basin aquifers is generally better than Beebe Draw aquifers,

There are other groundwater resources that could potentially be used in conjunctive use
arrangements, such as the alluvial aquifers of Lost Creek and Box Elder Creek and
aquifers in the South Park area of the Upper South Platte,

Denver Basin Aauifers

The Denver Basin groundwater basin underlies approximately 6,700 square miles as
shown in Figure 7, It extends from Greeley in the north to Colorado Springs in the south
and from the Front Range in the west to the high plains in the east In ascending order
the Denver Basin aquifers include the Laramie-Fox Hills, Arapahoe, Denver and Dawson
aquifers, There is an enormous amount of water in storage in the Denver Basin aquifers,
approximately 467 million acre-feet, 300 million acre-feet of which is recoverable
(Robson, 1987). The total amount of recoverable water in the five county metro Denver
area is estimated to be approximately 150 million acre-feet, with approximately 40
million acre- feet beneath Douglas County alone (Van Slyke, 1993). The areas of greatest
aquifer thickness and best well production occur in southwestern Arapahoe and northern
Douglas Counties. The water quality of the Denver Basin aquifers is generally good,

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Prepared for the Colorado Water Conservation Board, Colorado Department of Natural Resources by