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. . 590 UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO LAW REVIEW [voJ. 59 t988] COLORADO LAW OF "UNDERGROUND WATER" 59t however, such practices do not require the approval of senior right holders.43 In, the meanti.me the state engineer continued to try to develop regulatIons governmg tnbutary groundwater use, Regulations issued for the 1969 irrigation season were upheld by the Colorado Supreme Court agamst an attack by well Owners in the South Platte Basin.44 Nevertheless, the state engineer decided to abandon this approach. Draft rules were issued in 1972 and subsequently were approved by the water court as aIllended in 1974," The approach taken in these ~Ies was to phase out all groundwater pumping over a three-year pe. ~od, except from wells operating under a decreed plan for augmenta- t~on or otherwISe able to operate without impairing senior water nghts,46 nonprofit corporation, called Ground Water Appropriators of the South Platte (GASP), described its efforts already underway to pro- vide replacement water through such means as exchanges and aug- mentation of supply to offset any such injury to prior vested rights. To avoid curtailment of its members' well pumping, GASP proposed to make replacement water available to the state engineer. It promised to provide a list of its members to the state engineer, as well as an esti- mate of the amount of groundwater its members would be withdraw- ing from the tributary aquifer in the coming season and an accounting of the amount actually withdrawn the preceding year, The state engi- neer warmly greeted the formation of GASP. His letter of reply indi- cates that his primary concern was that the GASP projects be able to supply replacement water that might be needed "during a time of call" to prevent injury to senior rights,4' GASP now has about 1,400 members operating more than 3,000 wells within the South Platte River Basin-all the way from Fairplay to Julesburg. Most of these wells supply irrigation water, although there are also member wells supplying water for municipal and indus- trial uses,49 The vast bulk of its member wells are located in the South Platte basin below Greeley. GASP members pay annual fees based on the amount of water that the well owner expects to pump each year, so For each 100 ac,:re- feet of water pumped, or fraction thereof, one unit of membership must be purchased, The per unit fee is set by the board of directors V, CONJUNCTIVE USE ACTIVITIES IN THE SOUTH PLAITE V ALLEY: THREE CASE STUDIES As a consequence of the legislative decision that rights to tribu- tary groundwater be governed by the general priority system, ground- wat~r . users in th.. ,South Platte and Arkansas valleys faced the possIblhty that theIr Junior wells would have to shut down. The case studies which folio:", illustrate approaches taken to integrate tributary ground~ater uses In the South Platte with the general appropriative water nghts system. A, Groundwater Appropriators of the South Platte River In 1972 a group of well owners in the South Platte Valley, with t?e actIve encouragement of the state engineer, established an associa- tiOn "to provide :emedy to any legitimately determined injury which may result to pnor vested rights" as a result of pumping from its members' wellS,47 In its 1972 letter of intent to the state engineer, this 48. Letter from State Engineer Clarence Kuiper to GASP (Apr. II, 1972). According to the minutes of a GASP Board of Directors meeting on June 6, 1972. State Engineer Kuiper stated thai the replacement water to be made available by GASP should equal eighteen pereeJlt of the amount pumped from member wells. 49. GASP uses four types of conlnacts. Class 'A' contracts apply generally to pre-1969 wells adjudicated prior to December 31, 1972, and located in areas where replacement water is available. In 1981, Class 'A' contracts covered 2907 out ofa total of 3040 wells in GASP. Class 'D' contracts apply to new wells, which must provide 100 percent replacement water. Class'C' contracts apply to existing wells which, for some reason, do not meet the requirements for Class 'A' contracts. Such wells must provide five percent replacement water. Class '0' contracts apply to wells seeking membership only for one year. Such wells are to be covered by the replacement water supplied by GASP. 50. In 1981 the number of wells of each type and their estimated total pumping was as follows: Estimated Pumping No. of Wells (AC.FT) 4]. See COLO. REV. STAT. ~ ]7.80-120(2) (197]). . 44. Ku~perv. ~ell Ownel1i Conservation Ass'n, 176 Cola.. 119,490 P.2d 268 (1971). These regu- latIOns are diSCUssed m greater detail infra at text accompanying notes 1()()..101. 45. In the Matter of the Rules and Regulations Governing the Use, Control. and Protection of Surface an~ Ground Water Rights Located in the South Platte River and lis Tributaries (March 15, 1974) [heremafter South Platte Rules and Regulations). 46. /d. Final rules were adopted for Ihe Arkansas River Basin in 197] limiting well pumping 10 no m~re than thr~ days ~r week. In 1974 the slate engineer proposed an amendment phasing out well p~mplng ove~ three years In the same manner as with the South Plalle. The Colorado Supreme Court dlSallow~ thiS amendment because it was not based on adequate proof that it would make additional w.llter avadable for senior priorities. In re Arkansas River, 195 Colo. 557, 581 P.2d 293 (1978). No new rules have been issued for this area. 47. Leiter from Ground Water Armronrilllor~ of tht' South Pl:lll.. 10 "hI.. !O""..;"~~. rl....".... Commercial Industrial Municipal Irrigation 134 " 155 2,736 9.700 2,200 18,800 369.974 Total 3,040 400.674 I rllt"r rrom Donald nr.17.ehon. Colorado Divi~ion or Water Resources 10 Earl Phipps, Northern Cola-