WSP08278 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

~~~ ~elro Grollndwater Model Development Report Dc/. 11. 2001 Page 5 1 3,0 BACKGROUND To provide a context for the Model Development Plan, we summarize model objectives and results of the recently completed comparative modeling study that was performed to assess the need to explicitly account for fine-grained interbeds within the aquifer units in the regional model. In addition, our evaluation of the current SB-74 model is summarized. ) The South Metro area lies just south of metropolitan Denver, encompassing most of Douglas County, and parts of Arapahoe, Denver, and Jefferson counties (Figure 3.1). In the recent past, the region has experienced significant population growth, which is projected to continue for the next couple of decades. According to the US Census, Douglas County was the nation's fastest growing in the 1990s, and adjacent Arapahoe County is right behind it in population growth. Unlike most of the other Front Range municipalities, most of the South Metro communities rely on non-renewable groundwater resources for their water supplies, Recognizing a need to secure a sustainable and reliable long-term water supply for the South Metro region, many of the communities and water suppliers joined together with Denver Water and the Colorado River Water Conservation District joined together to form the South Metro Water Supply Study Board to investigate water management alternatives for the future. 3.1 Groundwater Model Objectives and Requirements As described in the 1/&/0 I South Metro Groundwater Model Requirements document, the overall purpose of the South Metro WSS is to "provide a framework to define and evaluate one or more water supply strategies that meet the near- and long-term water needs of Authority members participating in the study." The objective of the groundwater model is to illustrate likely responses by the Denver Basin bedrock aquifer system (Dawson, Denver, Arapahoe, and Laramie-Fox Hills aquifers) to pumping stresses so water managers can evaluate effective long-term strategies and programs to ensure a reliable water supply for the region. In the Model Requirements memo, we identified several key issues that the groundwater model will need to consider, including: (1) Regional and local (well and well field) head . ) drawdown rates in Denver Basin aquifers over the next 100 years, (2) Estimation of well Hydrosphere Resou.rce Consultants J 002 Walnut Suite 200, Boulder, CO 80302 PO Box 445, Socorro. NM 87801