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. 602 UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO LAW REVIEW [vol. 59 TABLE 2 CCWCD Subdistrict Replacement Water Availability and Actual Releases (in acre-feet) Item 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 Replacement Water Available in Plan 6400 6145 7568 6356 6811 8472 Length of River Call 76 85 5 10 48 61 days days days days days days Actual Replacement 2940 Water Released 3638 2976 73 249 3313 Release as % of Availability 57% 48% 1% 4% 49% 35% Sources of Replacement Water Released Surface Rights (includes effluent) 2354 2629 0 249 2916 2439 CBT /Windy G.p 830 85 0 0 175 0 Reservoir Releases 0 0 73 0 84 338 Augmentation Wells 0 (net credits) 854 250 0 0 () Recharge Projects (credits) 0 12 0 0 138 163 these wens occurs not long after pumping begins, SO this source is used only at the end of a long call period." These wens were not used as a replacement source between 1983 and 1986. As a unit of the CCWCD the Subdistrict has taxing authority" and, in 1985, it received property tax revenues of $227,288."' The other major source of revenue available to the Subdistrict is known as Class D assessments, the charge levied against each acre-foot of wen water pumped by Subdistrict members, The per-acre-foot charge in- creased from $7.50 in 1981 to $11.50 in 1985, These assessments gen. erated $130,000 in 1985, The assessments are one-year contracts which essentiany pay the Subdistrict for providing replacement water to cover for the depletions caused by the pumping from members' wens,s. 83. [d. 84. COLO. REV. STAT. ~ 37-45-121 (1973). 8S. The levy was two mills and the assessed valuation of the 196,000 acres of land within the Subdistrict was about $115 million. See Master Plan, supra note 82, at 6, and Table 2. 86. The Subdistrict has eight types of Class I contracts. Irrigation users are distinguished primar~ ily according to their dependence on groundwater. About 95 percent of the contracts serve irrigation wells decreed prior to July 8, 1972. The remaining contracts serve wells decreed as an alternate point of ..... r,. ."~ :F.;__';"'_ ~..~~..... ...............",. . . 1988] COLORADO LAW OF "UNDERGROUND WAlcK 6u.l TABLE 3 CCWCD - Groundwater Subdistrict 1987 Replacement Water (Source: Master Plan & 1987 Plan of Operation) Surface Water: [includes direct flow and reservoir (unadjusted for historic consumptive use)] Owned by Subdistrict Leased from CCWCD Leased for year Augmentation Wells: Owned by Subdistrict Recharge Projects: Accretlons from Recharge Occurring during 1987 South Platte Anticipated Calls TOTAL ALL SOURCES 1987 REPLACEMENT WATER 864 acft 672 acft 3636 adt 1500 acft 2503 acft 9175.eft In 1987 the Subdistrict announced that it no longer would pursue its application for a single permanent plan for augmentation for all wells in its area. Instead, it intends either to operate as a substitute supply plan, or to seek court approved augmentation plans for logical units of wells on a river-reachby-river-reach basis.87 The major problem facing the Subdistrict is to find adequate sources of permanent replacement water at a cost it can afford, Be- tween 1981 and 1986 the Subdistrict purchased water rights yielding about 851 acre,feet at a cost of $571,260, or about $671 per acre- foot.88 Such purchases sorely press the financial capacity of the Sub- district and are not a financially feasible option for providing the large additional replacement water requirements. The most cost effective strategy to date has been the recharge program, but this option is not available in all reaches where depletions must be offset. D. An Evaluation of the South Platte Experience Widespread irrigation activity in the South Platte Basin beginning in the I 860s caused the alluvial material underlying the irrigated lands to gradually fill with water, changing the surface flows of the South Platte River in the downstream reaches from intermittent to year- vary according to the type of contract held. Groundwater Management Subdistrict, Plan for Augmen. tation Status Report 4-6 (May 1988) [hereinafter Subdistrict Status Report). 87. Subdistrict Status Report. supra note 86, at 35. In either case. the Subdistrict intends to obtain the water supplies and prepare all information necessary to satisfy the requirements for plans for augmentation. 1111 ...~~ M,,~''''r PI;!". Wf'M "olt' Ill. ;If 12. and Ta1:l1e 6.