WSP05326

• File Number: 8040.500
• Description: Section D General Studies - Ground Water
• Date: 7/1/1999
• Author: SDU, BOR, USEPA,USGA
• Title: High Plains States Ground Water Publications - Southwest Irrigation District Recharge Demonstration Project Summary
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

Table 2.-Breakdown of project costs

e

Activity

Construction
Well rehabilitation
Easements
Permits
Operation and maintenance
Purchase and water delivery
Engineering
Monitoring and analysis
Administrative
Surface works
Injection wells
Observation/monitoring wells
Easements
Overhead
Management costs
Other

Subtotal
Total

Cost ($)

Federal

675,569
99,860
16,700
6,730
93,234
272,940
96,500
1,221,129
40,229

56,254
68.784

2,646,929

SID

286,000
210,000
180,000
20,000
168,000
14,064
467

878,531
3,525,460

Economic Feasibility

II

The project did not have a primary purpose to demonstrate economic feasibility of
groundwater recharge. However, the project did generate sufficient data to allow some
assessment of overall economic issues.

The sites varied widely in construction and operation. Amortized capital costs ranged from
$10.47 per acre-foot to $152. 40 per acre-foot. Purchasing and delivering of water to the
groundwater recharge sites were the most significant variables contributing to the high
overall costs. The costs for physically recharging groundwater were low and consisted
of adapting existing groundwater wells to recharge, connecting injection wells to a
distribution system, operation and maintenance of the system, and monitoring. These
costs were less than $25 per acre-foot for all groundwater recharge sites.

Conclusions

Groundwater recharge does have a beneficial impact upon the water table as shown by
groundwater level data obtained from the monitoring program.

Groundwater recharge systems can be operated with the technical resources readily
available to a typical farming community and irrigation entities.

10

I