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<br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />consumptive use equivalent to the consumptive use of their well, and thus have <br />their own source of augmentation water. The CRPOA was concerned about the <br />longevity of GASP and the possibility that the cost to stay with GASP would <br />become prohibitive. Because of the two votes by the property owners, they felt <br />that continuing to rely only upon GASP under a Class A contract did not provide <br />them the long term certainty to continue operation of their well which they <br />wanted. <br />Purchase of Senior Water Riqht for Auqmentation Water - the CRPOA <br />wants to try to purchase sufficient senior surface water rights to be able to <br />replace their consumptive use to the South Platte River system. Care must be <br />taken to purchase water rights that will yield the needed consumptive use credits <br />and that can have the water returned and measured back to the river. The <br />historic irrigated acreages must be dried up in order to satisfy the augmentation <br />credit. The point of delivery of the augmentation water should be above <br />Henderson, Colorado or there will need to be exchange provisions to assure the <br />augmented water will be of sufficient quantity and delivered to the river at a point <br />to assure there will be no injury to senior rights. Provisions may be necessary to <br />offset non-irrigation season depletions by storing water during the summer for <br />winter releases. <br />Once the CRPOA owns the senior surface water rights, then it would have <br />several options. One option would be to take those rights to an entity such as <br />GASP and ask for their well to be covered under GASP's augmentation pursuant <br />to a Class C contract with a small annual fee for administration. <br />This would not be very expensive once the senior right was purchased <br />but it would still be subject to the longevity concern about GASP. It does appear <br />to be a feasible solution. <br />Another option would be for CRPOA to actually try to decree their own <br />augmentation plan through the water court. This latter alternative has many <br />unknowns and could be very expensive. Many of the legal and administrative <br />issues that could come up in a change of water right proceedings and <br />augmentation case have not yet been litigated, and CRPOA should proceed <br />cautiously because many senior water rights might object to the case thus <br /> <br />q <br />