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believed to be accurate. However, this information should not be relied upon in any legal <br />proceeding. <br />BACKGROUND <br />Water rights transfers, substitute water supply plans, and augmentation plans have been and <br />continue to be used more frequently in the South Platte River basin as compared to other river <br />basins in Colorado. Well use in the basin grew significantly after the 1950s drought and well <br />development increased over time through the 1970s. The Water Right Determination and <br />Administration Act of 1969 established the requirement that wells operate within the priority <br />system. The wells continued to operate from this point forward under substitute water supply <br />plans approved by the State Engineer. Because of several Colorado Supreme Court decisions and <br />the drought of 2002, the Colorado Legislature passed House Bill 02-1414. The bill requires, in <br />most cases, that augmentation plans be filed with the Water Court prior to submission of a <br />substitute water supply plan for approval. This bill was amended in 2003 under Senate Bill 03-73 <br />to allow wells in the South Platte basin up to three years to file plans for augmentation with the <br />Water Court while operating under temporary plans approved by the State Engineer. <br />DEFINITIONS <br />For consistency in terminology, the following definitions are used herein: <br />Decreed Alternate Point Wells -Wells decreed as alternate points to surface water rights that <br />divert based on the priority of the surface water right. Requirements for wells to be considered <br />alternate points has changed over time, but the decreed alternate point wells used herein are <br />based on older decrees, which do not require the wells to be located within a specific distance to <br />the river. Representation of decreed alternate point wells should account for lagged depletions to <br />the river but should not require replacement when diverted in priority. <br />(Well) Augmentation Plan -Method for junior ground water right diverters to replace pumping <br />depletions in the river to protect senior water rights. Augmentation plans are administered based <br />on terms and conditions adjudicated by the Water Court. Elements of a well augmentation plan <br />typically include: <br />• Demands -Lagged river depletions in time and location due to well pumping. <br />• Supplies -Replacement /augmentation sources, including natural stream flows, recharge <br />water rights, recharge pits, and reservoirs. <br />• Operations of the supplies to meet the demands. <br />Ditch Augmentation Plan - An augmentation plan associated with a ditch service area that <br />provides replacement water predominantly to wells irrigating under the ditch (e.g., Fort Morgan <br />Canal augmentation plan). The wells covered by these plans may or may not receive surface <br />water supplies directly from the ditch. <br />Ground Water Only Acreage -Irrigated parcels that use ground water as the only supply <br />source based on the SPDSS 2001 GIS Irrigated Acreage Assessment. <br />2of16 <br />