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<br />UNIVEKSITY OF COLORADO LAW REVIEW (
<br />'voJ.59
<br />
<br />To facilitate the use of this val bI
<br />Jature in 1969 declared r" ua. e, renewable resaurce the legis.
<br />and administration of U~d~~gl:~un~O mtegrat: the appropriation, use,
<br />the use of surface water in such a w:ater tnbuta~y to a stream with
<br />use of all of the waters of this state ". h~ to. maXImIze the beneficial
<br />experience in integrating the us f"b IS paper exammes Calarada's
<br />water. eo. tn utary graundwater with surface
<br />
<br />It begins with a discussian af the h ' ..
<br />ground and surface water A b . f P YSlcal relatlOnshlp between
<br />ment in the South Platte b' . hoe summary af groundwater develap-
<br />. asm t en IS pravided N h .
<br />vIew af the legal [ram k . . ext t ere IS an aver-
<br />ewar gavernmg t 'b t
<br />experience in integrating round an n u ary ~roundwater. The
<br />basin then is presented t:rou h th:':Urface water 10 ~he Sauth Platte
<br />concludes with an assessmen~ f t'b case studles. Fmally the paper
<br />rado and suggestions far i 0 0 utary graundwater law in Cola-
<br />of Colorada's related gro:~rov~men:: to promote optimal utilization
<br />an sUuace water resources.
<br />
<br />n.T GHE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SURFACE WATER AND
<br />ROUNDWATER
<br />
<br />Many western streams are under!' , .
<br />uifers cantaining water resources who ~m WIth substantIal alluvial aq'
<br />surface flows. The water in these all~~' ' In s~me cases, far exceed the
<br />flows and is in turn recha d b h tal aqUIfers supports the surface
<br />these aquife:.s is a SI~wlY mrlge t' y t ese flaws. In effect, the water in
<br />gra 109 storage reserv . , B .
<br />the surface and subsu-"ace t _ OIr. y developmg
<br />. . 11; wa er resources In a 0 d' d
<br />Junctlve manner it is possibl t . c or mate or con~
<br />water and the efficiency w'th e ~.I~Phrove the total available supply of
<br />I W Ie t at supply IS used.6 For example,
<br />
<br />waste... :. COLO. REV. STAT. ~ 37-90-104(4 Su
<br />trtltion of designated groundwater. ) ( pp. ]987). This paper does not address the adminis.
<br />In that same ses io th I '.'
<br />. s n e egb.ature enacted a bill directin t .
<br />of tnbutary groundwater in accordance with th " g he state engmeer to administer the use
<br />See the discussion injro in text ........"m . e pnonty system. 1965 Colo. Sess. Laws ch 318 ; I
<br />........... panYlng note 22 . , .
<br />4.. Cot.O. REV. STAT. ~ 37-92-102(1) (1973 & S' .
<br />recogmzed that Colorado laws had given ",' d upp. 1987). nus same "declaration" explicitly
<br />d na equate aUcrltion to th d 1
<br />groun waters or the state." It furth r' e eVe opment and use of under-
<br />e recogmzed that the use of Ih . ,
<br />present and future'welfare of the people of this stAte'" . ese waters IS 'necessary to the
<br />the state depends upon 8 sound and flex'bl' . Fmally It recognized that the "future welfare of
<br />SlAT. 9 37.92-102(2) (1973). I e mtegnl.tcd u.st of all walers of the state." COLO. REV.
<br />5. Useful, non-technical discussions arc ro 'ded .
<br />Ground Wattr: A Continuing Dilemma? 40 U eoP VI In Comment, Appropn'ation and Calorados
<br />Th G ' . LO. L. REV 133 (1967)' d H .
<br />e roundwoter-Sudace Water CDnRict dR' ,an amson & Sandstrom.
<br />RE 1 ( 9 :I" an teent Colorado Wat L . I .
<br />v. 1 71) {hereinafter Harrison .. S d er egIS at/on, 43 U. COLD L
<br />C . . <<. an strom). See a/so th d' . . .
<br />ourt In KUiper v. Wellowners Consc" e I$CU5SlOn by the Colorado Supreme
<br />(1971). rvatlon Assn, 176 Colo. 119. 132-34,490 P.2d 268, 214-75
<br />6. Trclcasc provides a useful general definiti f . .
<br />applied to several different praetices d on 0 conjunctive use: "Conjunctive use is the name
<br />an processes employed to coordinate the use of ground and sur-
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<br />
<br />t988]
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<br />COLORADO LAW OF "UNDERGROUND WATER"
<br />
<br />581
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<br />in draught years additianal water can be drawn from the underground
<br />aquifer. Then, in high flaw years, recharge projects can be used to.
<br />resupply the reservoir.
<br />As an alluvial well is pumped the water table surraunding the
<br />well is gradually lawered, creating a cone of depression. Over time
<br />this cone reaches the stream itself and depletes the stream fiow, either
<br />by reducing the groundwater fiow (baseflow) to the stream or by in-
<br />ducing movement af stream water into the aquifer. As pumping con-
<br />tinues the drawdown near the stream increases. causing ever greater
<br />depletions; when pumping ceases the water table gradually recovers,
<br />reducing depletions. A principal feature of conjunctive use manage-
<br />ment is to take advantage af the time lag between the start of pumping
<br />and the anset of appreciable depletive effects on surface flows.'
<br />The physical relationship between groundwater pumping and
<br />stream flows was well understoad by the 194Os,' However, the devel-
<br />
<br />face water in order to get the maximum economic benefits from bOth resources." Trelease.. Conjunctive
<br />Use of Groundwofer and Surface Waler,21 Roc1ty M.. MIN'. L. INST. 1853, 1854 (1982).
<br />7, Mathematical e~pressions have been developed to. quantify these effects. Jenk.ins, Techniques
<br />for Computing Rate and Volume a/Stream Depletions by wens, () GttOIJ!'lDWA TEk 37 (1968). Unfortu-
<br />natet)', the equations are complex, and e),8Ct solutions. were either very tedious or impossible. As a
<br />result, simplifying assumptions and graphical solutions were propo$Cd M\d found to be rather effeCtive
<br />in analyzing the interactions between the al\uvial aquifer and streams.
<br />One of the graphical solution methods widely used in Colorado today is the "stream depletion
<br />fjl..ctor" (sdf). The sdf describes "the time from tbe ~pnn;,ng of steady pumping within which the
<br />voh.lme of stream depletion is 18 percent of the volume pumped." Id. at 33. The sdf incorporatcs the
<br />aquifer properties oftransmissibility and specific yield and the distance between the well and the sucam
<br />inlo one pjl..rameter. Thus 1I well with 100 day sdfwitl have caused stream depletions of 28 percent of
<br />the voll,lme of water pumped from the wet! during 100 days of pumping; and the rate of depletion after
<br />100 days will be 48 percent, i.e" ~rty l;uJ.tf of the water pumped in any time period will be coming
<br />from the stream. Contour maps displaying this relationship can be developed with computer models
<br />aSld aquifer tcsts which wiU indiCllte the effects on stream Rows of wells in Sivel'1 locations.
<br />Computer models noW exist to solve the complex equations and allow exact solutions. These JIlod-
<br />eis can simulate the complex interactions between the surface and subsurface resources and predict how
<br />the aquifer and stream wiU respond to varying stream inl\ows, diversions, and groundwater use any-
<br />where within the modeled area. See, e.g., Mord-Seytour., lltangesk.are, Bittinger & Evans, Potential Use
<br />0[ a Stream-Aquifer MotIel for Management of 0 Rinr Basin: Case aftht South Plattt River in C%radl1.
<br />t3 WATER SCIEI'lCE AND TECHNOLOGY 115 (19&1). The model described in this paper will be used by
<br />the division engineer responsible for Ildi1linistrat"lon of t\\e South Platte River.
<br />At this point, a major limitation on the use of these models is the difficulty in jl..cquiring accurate
<br />data regarding the llquifer and water usage within the system. As such models are further developed
<br />and tested, they could help lctld the way to more integr!.t~ management of the water resource. Gngg,
<br />Voluntary Appl'Q(1ches to Basinwide Water Management. in TR.....OI.tON, INNOV^TION, "NO CON'JlUCT:
<br />PERSPECTIVES IN COLORADO WATER LAW 209- (L MacDonnell ed. 1987).
<br />8. Certainly by the 1940s the technical aspects were well understood. A remarkably clear-headed
<br />description of the issues fllised by groundwater development in Colof1.do can be found in a document
<br />prepared in 1952 in cOrlnec:tion with the eft'ort under'YIay at that time to draft groundwater legislation.
<br />Memorandum ftom RoyceJ. Tipton to Judge Stone (Sept. 15, 1952) (in the Stephen H. Hart Library,
<br />Colorado Historical Society, Denve!, ColoradO) (hereinafter Tipton Memorandum]. II' reCOgnition of
<br />the interrelationship between groundwater and surface water the memorandum stales:
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