WSPC05202

• File Number: 7630.625
• Description: Wild and Scenic - Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
• State: CO
• Basin: Statewide
• Date: 8/13/1981
• Author: Various
• Title: Comments - RE-South Platte River Basin Interim Report
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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R.L. Anderson
Ilert. 0 F Economic"
Colorado State University
Ft. Collins, Colo. 80523
September 17, 1981

COMMENTS ON INTERIM REPORT:
SOUTH PLATTE RIVER BASIN ASSESSMENT

Table 16. Value of municipal auu indListi.ial wate.r supplie.s

I'm quoted as reporting water rights being purchased by cities for

$lOOO/acre-foot. This i!:i a serious ndBconununicntion. This should be about

$2000/acre-foot for shares of irrigation company stock (which are quite dif-

ferent fro~ water rights) in 1981. In 1981 irrigation stock prices ranged

from $1800/acre-foot/share to $2200/acre-foot/share. If you are consider-

ing Colorado-Big Thompson project water at $2000/acre-foot unit, this trans-

lates to about $2800/AF of water (.7 AF ~ $2000/unit).

Using the $2000/AF figure, the annual value of water for M & I supply be-

comes $200 rather than $lOO/acre-foot. Two hundred dollars is a more reason-

able figure in my view. Average revenue for municipal water delivered in

the northern Front Range area ranges from about $lOO/AF in Greeley to $250/AF

in Broomfield. Small towns derive average revenue of $92-96/AF for Johnstown

and Lafayette to $400 to $500/AF for Milliken, Firestone and Windsor. Rural-

domestic water districts in Boulder, Weld, and Larimer counties derive aver-

age revenue from water delivered of from $250 to $500 per acre-foot (see bulle-

tin, Price and Delivery of Water 111 the Northern Colorado Front Range).

A. ~!I_rigation or presently irrigated lands - t.1.blc 16

These estimates of values of irrigation water appear to be low. USDA

studies of net return to dry land wheat in northeastern Colorado show an aver-

age of $36/acre during the 1970s (see Tom Miller). This is much higher than

the $9 reported here.