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<br />24 <br /> <br />Diversions. During the 1970 water year the total surface water <br />diversions within the basin were nearly 3 million acre-feet. Irrigation <br />withdrew over 2.5 million acre-feet and municipal and industrial water <br />users took 471,000 acre-feet, of which 110,000 acre-feet was for <br />industrial use. Some 542 canals diverted water from the South Platte <br />and its tributaries. <br />Water Rights. About 4,500 direct flow rights have been decrl'ed, <br />with a coll ective entitl ement of 30-mi 1 lion acre-feet if exercf sed <br />continuously. As previously noted, there are 1,200 decreed storage <br />rights within the Basin, which yield collectively 1.3 million acre-feet <br />of storage. But most such rights are restricted to periods of time and <br />quantities of flow for use. <br />Irrigation. Figure 2-4 shows the areal distribution of irrigated <br /> <br />lands in the South Platte River basin in Colorado. <br />about 1,300,000 acres, <br />About 500,000 acres of land are irrigated along the main stem of <br /> <br />Total acreage is <br />,.. <br /> <br />the South Platte River hetween Henderson and Julesburg having average <br />diversions of 950,000 acre-feet per year between 1965 and 1977. Some 57 <br />canals divert water in this reach. The lands are irrigated by direct <br />flow rights from canals, by storage from reservoirs, and by pumping from <br />alluvial aquifers. <br />Hunicipal Use. A continuous urban region is emerging from Denver <br />to Fort Collins (and indeed to Colorado Springs) (3). The nominal per <br />capita domestic water use has been about 220 gal/person/day (gpcd) in <br />the past, but ranged from 170 for Boulder to 230 for Denver. The 220 <br />gpcd is about 9.25 acre/person/year. <br /> <br />l~, <br />