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<br />0011 J~ <br /> <br />Dr aft - 9/81 <br /> <br />Appendix IV <br /> <br />The Med ium and High Sc'enarios <br />for Irrigated Agricultural ExpansIon <br /> <br />As pointed out in Chapter 5, the extent of future expansion <br /> <br />of irrigated agriculture in Colorado will depend mainly on <br /> <br />whether or not the federal government, alone or with the help of <br /> <br />state funds, actually builds water storage projects. <br /> <br />There are two possIble exceptions to this, general rule. <br /> <br />FIrst, in theory, there is potential for more increased ground <br /> <br />water pumping in the Northern High PlaIns. Some of the best <br /> <br />water-bearing areas of the Ogallala FormatIon, p,articularly in <br /> <br />parts of Yuma County, are relatively undeveloped. But little <br /> <br />, <br />~ <br /> <br />interest .in development is being evinced now by land owners in <br /> <br />these areas, and v irtually no permits are being issued to dr ill <br /> <br />wells in other parts of the formation. Knowledgable people in <br /> <br />the DIvision of Water Resources estimate that, as long as the <br /> <br />current permit criteria are in force, it is unlikely that m,ore <br /> <br />than 100 additional well permits will ever be issued in the <br /> <br />Northern High Plains Region (Nestlerode, 1980). The net quantity <br /> <br />of water that will be pumped from all wells in the future is <br /> <br />principally a function of the amount of precipItation, the price <br /> <br />of crops and the price of energy. The most probable scenario is <br /> <br />that agricultural water consumption will actually decline in the <br />