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<br />ill. ELEMENTS OF THE WATER CONSERV ATION/SUPPLY COMPONENT <br /> <br />A. Reconnaissance Study <br /> <br />The Governance Commi~ee will direct the Water Management Committee to <br />develop a Scope of Work within a specified time period. The Scope of Work <br />will guide the work of a hydrologic engineering consulting firm, which will <br />conduct, in cooperation with the states and the Water Management Committee, a <br />basin-wide reconnaissance study in the Platte River Basin to assess the potential <br />for and make recommendations regarding the inclusion of water conservation <br />and supply projects within the Program. Concurrent with development of the <br />Scope of Work, each state and DOl will be invited to compile and assess any <br />available information which may be helpful to the consultant in targeting its <br />assessment to promising water conservation/supply opportunities in the basin. <br />This information, to the degree it is made available to the Water Management <br />Committee in a timely fashion, could also be used in focusing the Scope of <br />Work on specific, unanswered questions regarding promising water <br />conservation/supply opportunities in the basin. Once the Scope of Work is <br />approved by the Govel11llllCl'i CoIll1llittee, the Water Management Committee <br />will be directed to engage the services of a competent hydrologic engineering <br />consulting firm through a competitive bid process. <br /> <br />The Reconnaissance Study, which will be completed in 12 to 18 months after <br />execution of the Cooperative Agreement, will assess the opportunities for and <br />the feasibility of incorporation of water conservation/supply alternatives within <br />each of three regions in the Platte River Basin: the South Platte River Basin <br />upstream from the Western Canal Diversion; the North Platte River Basin above <br />Lake McConaughy; and the region below the Western Canal Diversion on the <br />South Platte River and from Lake McConaughy to Grand Island in the North <br />Platte and Platte River Basins. These assessments shall include cost-benefit <br />analyses, analyses of impacts on groundwater and return flow, analyses of the <br />gross amount of water conserved or supplied, and analyses of net water benefits <br />provided at the associated habitats. Each assessment shall include a process that <br />provides an opportunity for involvement by each state, the consultant, the <br />public, and water conservation taSk forces as appropriate. Finally, the <br />assessments of water conservation/supply alternatives shall consider the <br />physical, legal, and institutional feasibility of the alternatives. The following <br />alternative types of water conservation/supply projects shall be assessed: . <br /> <br />· potential modifications to surface water storage and delivery systems, <br />taking into account seepage and any impacts to groundwater levels and <br />return flows in the Platte River Basin; <br /> <br />2 <br />