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<br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />~1'~03l <br />r: ~ ! .- ";1 ~ -. <br />-' ~'"k <br /> <br />for following crops. <br />significant promise <br />High Plains region. <br /> <br />This technology does not appear to hold <br />for increasing water suppl ies for the <br /> <br />Research and development projects are continuing on <br />increasing the potential water yield from high elevation <br />snowpack sites in Colorado and other western mountain states. <br />No operational or commercial projects have been initiated to <br />date. <br /> <br />c. Water harvesting techniques, water banking - water harvesting <br />and water banking techniques do represent potential oppor- <br />tunities for local water supply augmentation in much of the <br />High Plains region. Water harvesting involves trapping local <br />runoff waters from adjacent watersheds and using that water <br />for crop producti on to suppl ement ground water use. Water <br />banking is a technique for capturing available surface waters <br />in excess of immediate needs and overwatering areas with <br />favorable infiltration rates. Excess waters are "banked" in <br />ground water storage (by deep percolation) for later recap- <br />ture. <br /> <br />With a total land area of about 141 million acres, the six- <br />state High Plains Study Region is projected to have less than <br />40 million acres under cultivation (only about 27 percent). <br />Much of the noncultivated land is suitable for treatment as <br />potential watershed for either water harvesting or water <br />banking projects. Runoff collection systems, water spreading <br />in channels, diversions and artificial reCharge areas have <br />been used on a small scale (e.g. in northeast Colorado) to <br />test the feasibility of this local water supply augmentation <br />method. <br /> <br />Such projects are typically <br />frequently involve multiple <br /> <br />extens i ve in natu re and most <br /> <br />landholders. <br /> <br />Ri ghts to the <br /> <br />9 <br />