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<br />f: ~" " ~', , <br /> <br />10 <br /> <br />Water District 2 <br /> <br />1. Water District 2 serves as a strategic link between mountain and <br />front range tributary areas and downstream plains areas of the South Platte <br />Basin. Because of this location, water users within Water District 2 are <br />dependent upon inflow from several sources and at several locations. Thus, <br />they experience quite different water supply situations within the various <br />reaches from year to year. Urbanization is rapidly taking place in the <br />districts above Water District 2, as well as in the upper section of Water <br />District 2. <br /> <br />2. The amount of river water available for diversion under direct- <br />flow decrees held by Water District 2 ditches has changed over the years. <br />Some ditches in the upper portion of the Water District have experienced <br />a reduction in diversions of direct-flow water, whereas some ditches in the <br />lower portion have been diverting an increasing amount during recent years. <br /> <br />3. The amount of water remaining in storage within Water District 2 <br />after the close of the irrigation season has been increasing over recent <br />years, although the amount in storage at the beginning of the season does <br />not show this trend. <br /> <br />4. A reservoir containing approximately 1.3 million acre-feet of <br />groundwater underlies the main stem of the South Platte River in Water <br />District 2. In addition, an estimated 320,000 acre-feet of groundwater <br />underlies Beebe Draw between Barr Lake and Latham Reservoir, giving a <br />total of some 1.6 million acre-feet of groundwater in Water District 2. <br />During an average year less than 10 percent (120,000 to 140,000 acre-feet) <br />of this storage capacity is actively used. During years of heavy pumping <br />(such as 1954 and 1956) the amount withdrawn has reached 200,000 to <br />210,000 acre-feet within Water District 2. <br /> <br />5. The relationship of inflow to outflow of surface water for Water <br />District 2 has not changed significantly on an annual basis. However, <br />noticeable changes have occurred during certain parts of the year--partic- <br />ularly late summer and fall--indicating that the return flow pattern has <br />been changing during recent years. This change started in 1953 for <br />November and December, but not until the early 1960's during the summer <br />months. Ihe average annual depletion (inflow-outflow) for the Water Dis- <br />trict is about 126,000 acre-feet, some of which is transported to the <br />Box Elder and Prospect Valleys. <br /> <br />6. Data and estimates of water used were obtained from a Farm Water <br />Utilization Study prepared by the Bureau of Reclamation for the Narrows <br />Project. The Study was for the l5-year period from 1947 to 1961, inclusive. <br />It covered 17 of the canals which divert water for irrigation from the <br />South Platte River in Water District 2. <br /> <br />7. The Bureau estimated a total of 124,635 acres as being irrigated <br />by the 17 canals and/or by pumping from groundwater sources. Estimates <br />from other sources show considerable discrepancy for the irrigated acreage <br />under individual canals. <br /> <br />d.....__-'-- <br /> <br />" <br /> <br />"' ,';l,L.j~j <br />