WSP06241

• File Number: 8449.860
• Description: South Platte Projects - Metropolitan Denver Water Study
• State: CO
• Basin: South Platte
• Date: 3/1/1988
• Author: USACOE
• Title: Metropolitan Denver Water Supply Environmental Impact Statement - Summary
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: EIS

nontributary ground water or develop other sources. If importation

would not be achieved, development patterns would evolve around such

areas. Infrastructure inefficiencies could result.

1.44 No measures were found to mitigate these impacts.

COST ESTIMATES

1.45 Figure 1-31 shows the present-value of the total cost of each

alternative. This value is equal to the total sum that would have to

be invested at the time of implementation to pay for all construction,

mitigation, and operating costs for a 50-year period. A real rate of

return on investment of 4 percent was used. Real rate of return is

the difference between actual interest and inflation.

1.46 During the Initial years of operation, demand for water would be

relatively low and the cost per unit of water provided would be quite

high. As demand increases over time and the full capacity of a

project is approached, the cost per unit of water provided would be

reduced. This is especially true of projects with a high original

construction coat. Figure 1-32 shows the average annual cost per

acre-foot of water provided for each alternative.

1.47 The methodology used to derive the cost per acre-foot discounts

the value of large projects that have unused capacity for a number of

years. The costs shown in figure 1-32 do not account for the fact

that the larger projects would provide a source of water for a longer

period of time than the amaller projects. To provide a ~rect
comparison, the costs and yields of additional sources would have to
be factored into the cost per acre-foot of the smaller projects. If
this were done, the cost per acre-foot could either increase or

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