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,; "' :> .' . . , per share, Because the Ft. Lyon lands are chronically water short, much if not all of the water could be used beneficially on existing cultivated lands. The economic feasibility of water salvage will be analyzed based on a number of factors including: the value of alternative investments, cash flow, and availability of financing for salvage investment; as well as broader policy and legal issues, such as the protection of historic return flows to other water users and environmental concerns like reduction of wildlife habitat and wetlands, Alternative 4: Water Banking Water banking has been successfully used in Idaho and California during recent droughts. No express authorization exists in Colorado for water banking, but such a practice could be implemented through a large scale temporary substitute supply plan approved by the State Engineer of one or more years' duration. A permanent water banking mechanism in Colorado might require legislative authorization, and our study will review that issue. From a hydrologic standpoint, water banking depends on the availability of adequately situated water storage vessels. Storage in wet years in the Arkansas is demonstrably limited. However, in normal years storage space is available and in dry years extensive upstream space is available. The Ft. Lyon holds rights to storage in its own vessels, a right to store in John Martin and Pueblo Reservoirs, and the potential for delivering water to the Great Plains Reservoirs, and may be positioned to facilitate water banking in the Arkansas basin more than other canal companies, This task will analyze whether the Ft. Lyon storage system can provide storage for water banking which would aid the lower valley and compact obligations, By study of water management, market reallocation of water, and State Engineer approval of short term arrangements, this task will evaluate the potential feasibility of a careful water banking effort. Alternative 5: Retirement of Marginal Agricultural Lands Defining and identification of marginal lands would be the first phase of evaluating this alternative. Soil Survey reports for the counties of Otero, Bent, and Prowers should provide much of the data needed. Interpretive maps available in SCS field offices may provide additional data on present use, of these marginal lands. Shifting of water use from marginal land to more productive land is probably an ongoing practice within the boundaries of individual farm units in years of average or below water availability. Given an estimate of the quantity of water that could be made available by retirement of marginal land and the acreage of productive crop lands available, an analysis of the water 12