WSP05388

• File Number: 8449
• Description: Platte River Projects
• State: CO
• Basin: South Platte
• Date: 9/9/1980
• Author: USGS
• Title: Hydrologic Analysis of the Proposed Badger-Beaver Creeks Artificial-Recharge Project, Morgan County, Colorado
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Publication

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A limited amount of pumping data is avai lable, mostly for the Beaver'
,Creek valley. Published pumping data for Beaver Creek valley collated from:
various sources is presented in table 10. The pumping rates from year to year~
were quite erratic. A change in precipitation was hypothesized to be a,
reasonable indicator for variable rates of application. Data for the 6 years:
available were plotted versus the annual precipitation for the same year,
resulting in the relationship shown in figure 22. A regression analysis of,
this data resulted in the equation: i

Ap
P
a

A =2.66-0.093P ,
P a
is the application rate, in feet per year;

is the annual precipitation, in inches.

(15J

where

and

The equation computes a reasonable estimate of 1.43 ft per year for the aver-
age application rate when using the average annual precipitation of 13.2 in.

Table 10.--HistoT'ie pwnping data [01' Beaver> Cr>eek valley

Year

Number
of
wells

Pumpage
(acre-feet)

Irrigated
acres

Appl icat ion
rate
(feet)

Precipitation:
(i nches)

19101.- Firs t "'e 11 s ------ ------
19361.- 25 ------ ------
19401-- 53 7,710 4,920 1. 57 11. 12
19462-- 109 11,445 10,191 1. 12 17.42
19472-- 117 12,084 10,939 1. 10 13.76
19482-- 121 17,889 11,313 1.58 12.57
19492-- 135 17,018 12,623 1.35 15.10
19502-- 138 24,343 12,903 1.89 9.45
19723_- ------ 16,500
lCode, 1943.
2Bjorklund and Brown, 1957.
3Computed from U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1972.

If there were no precipitation, irrigation applications would have to:
total the crop consumptive use. This equation results in a reasonable esti-,
mate of 2.66 ft per year for crop consumptive use if there were no precipita-'
'tion. Cumulative irrigated acreage and an implied increase in pumping are'
shown in figure 23. These data were obtained from a list of well permits on:
'file "lith the Conservancy District (Thomas Norton, written commun., 1978).'
'By estimating the land irrigated by each well and tabulating the date of,
'drilling, the area of irrigated land was computed. This curve has limitations:
:in accuracy because many wells were constructed as replacement wells as ",ater
:levels declined. Thus the curve does not include the effects of cessation of,
'pump i ng rep 1 aced ",e II s.
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