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.' :. Honorable Lewis,Entz Honorable Diane Hoppe November 12, 2003 Page 2 1, Enables the implementation of a specific water development plan that could meet the needs of Arapahoe and Douglas Counties and, at the same time, provides benefits to other entities both on the West Slope and the Front Range; and 2, Helps the entities in Douglas and Arapahoe Counties create a South Metropolitan Water Authority, I believe this situation is of statewide concern, and it is important that the State of Colorado help fmd a real solution that can be implemented, A. SpecitkWater Supply Alternative for Approximately 50,000 Acre Feet of Water in Arapahoe aud Douglas Counties For several years now, key leaders of the southern metropolitan area, the Denver Water Board, and the Colorado River Water Conservation Distriot have been working on possible solutions to address the water needs of the south metropolitan area, I have very much encouraged that. effort, Indeed, the CWCB partially ftmded the study, which has been underway for several years, The alternatives being examined have the possibility of providing up to 50,000 acre feet of water per year for the needs of Douglas and Arapahoe Counties, In addition to aggressive conservation and water recycling, I believe the following two components from that study could help solve the south metropolitan area's water supply problem: ~ Conjunctive Use with Borrowingfrom Denver Water's reservoirs - Denver would allow water to be borrowed from its reservoirs (mainly Cheesman and Dillon reservoirs) during the winter. If, during Spring runoff, the "hole" in Denver's reservoirs caused by the borrowing eventually filled, the south metro entiti'es would h\l.ve gained new water and Denver's firm yield would be unchanged, However, if the "hole" caused by borrowing did not fill during the Spring runoff, the south metro entities would be required to turn on a portion of their wells and pump enough water back into Denver's system to assure that Denver did not lose any firm yield, ~ Conjunctive Use without Borrowingfrom Denver Water's reservoirs - Denver Water's system would be used to divert water under new junior direct flow rights without the benefit of storage in Denver's reservoirs, These water rights woUld be junior water rights with a source of water from both the South Platte and Colorado Rivers and would be diverted directly from the South Platte for use in Douglas and Arapahoe Counties, Under this alternative, the majority of surface water deliveries would occur during May and June of above average flow years, It is my understanding that Denver Water and the Colorado River District have not yet decided whether to cooperate with Douglas and Arapahoe Counties in a conjunctive use project. Numerous difficult issues must be resolved before they can decide whether to participate in a project, including what value could a project provide to Denver Water and the West Slope, These and other tough issues remain to be negotiated by the parties, However, the General t ~ 'I '" .,. .~.. ~,,~