PUB00060

• Year: 1998
• Title: SECWD/Arkansas Basin Future Water and Storage Needs Assessment
• Author: GEI Consultants, Inc
• Description: SECWD/Arkansas Basin Future Water and Storage Needs Assessment
• Publications - Doc Type: Water Resource Studies

Water and Storage Needs Assessment
" . SECWCD/Assessment Enterprise
December 10, 1998

represent the bulk of this potential water supply need. The supply/demand
comparisons have assumed that the Fry-Ark Project yield is 80,400 afper year.
Historical yield has been closer to 60,000 af per year. As municipal demand
increases, municipal entities will begin using greater amounts of Fry-Ark Project
water. Under the forecast, municipal entities will begin to use their Fry-Ark
supplies more heavily, approaching their 51 percent allocation by the year 2020.
This will impact current uses of Project water by agrlcultunil users for
supplemental irrigation and replacement supplies for well depletions.

Total (High):

o
o
o
o
o

o

o.
o
o
24,800
o

i...lil~~

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~22~.1 ~~'i~9c~~,:t.j;
400 2,100
o 0
o 0
50,400 79,700
o 0

Entities West of Pueblo

Pueblo West
Pueblo

Fountain Valley
Entities East of Pueblo

500

24,800

50,800

81,800

A water supply/demand comparison was performed for each municipal entity as
described in Section 6 of the main report. The above tabulation summarizes results for
the high demand forecast.

5. Most of the municipal water supply entities have water rights to meet their 2040
needs. However, storage capacity is needed to provide firm yield and to facilitate
water exchanges and management of imported water reuse.

6. Average annual agricultural water use in the District is estimated to be 825,000 af
(for ditches and canals between Pueblo and John Martin reservoirs). Agriculture
relies heavily on supplemental sources including transmountain water, Fry-Ark
water, Winter Water, storage reservoirs, and ground water, as indicated on Figure
ES-4. (Direct flow water accounts of86 percent of agricultural use in a "wet" year,
but only 65 percent in a "dry" year). As municipal demands increase, the amount
of Project water now available to agricultural entities will decline, as indicated in
Figure ES-5. Also, agricultural well users will need sources of replacement water
to offset well pumping effects on the Arkansas River. A third supply source that
may not be available to agricultural interests during the planning horizon is
transmountain water currently being purchased by the irrigation companies from
municipal entities. As municipal water use increases, this water, estimated to be

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m GEl Consultants, Inc.