Review of the Draft South Platte Basin Implementation

1 South Platte Overview 5 Plan Elements Themes & 2 Overarching Goals 6 Alternative Portfolios 3 The South Platte Vision 7 Summary 4 Challenges 2

1 South Platte Overview

South Platte Basin Overview – Diverse Needs § § § Municipal Industrial Agricultural Environmental Recreational 4

Municipal and Industrial Water Needs • • • The east slope is home to 80% of the State’s population (the Metro and South Platte Basin account for about 70%) Large industries include energy production, manufacturing, brewing, and food processing Power generation at coal and natural gas fired facilities 5

Municipal & Industrial (M&I) Water Supply Gap in the South Platte Basin 2050 Gap Existing Supply *Based on SWSI 2010 Medium Water Demands 6

Agricultural Water Needs 1. 4 million acres of irrigated land § Seven of top ten agricultural producing counties in the State § Represents approximately 75% of agricultural sales statewide § Processing of West Slope agricultural products § 7

Agricultural Water Shortages (2050) 1600000 1400000 Acre-Feet 1200000 1000000 Gap 262, 000 AFY 800000 600000 Gap 160, 000 AFY 400000 200000 0 South Platte Basin Republican Basin Water Supply Limited Consumptive Use *Based on SWSI 2010 Agricultural Needs Projections Gap 8

Environmental and Recreational § Enjoyment of environmental and recreational values South Platte Basin is a gateway to tourism throughout the State o South Platte Basin is home to the most visited State Parks o Environment and recreational opportunities important to quality of life o § Various Attributes of Importance within the Basin State endangered, threatened, or species of special concern o Important Riparian Habitat o Migratory Bird Viewing/Hunting o Fishing (including Gold Medal fisheries) o 9

2 Overarching Themes & Goals

Overarching Themes for South Platte BIP § “A Good Colorado Plan Needs a Good South Platte Plan” § Solutions must be pragmatic, balanced, and consistent with Colorado law and property rights § The South Platte River Basin will continue its leadership role in efficient use and management of water § A balanced program is needed to investigate, preserve, and develop Colorado River options 11

Eight Goals and Measureable Outcomes 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Agriculture Municipal Water Conservation, Reuse and Efficiency Identified Projects and Processes South Platte Storage and Other Infrastructure Water Quality New Colorado River Supply Environmental and Recreational Statewide - Long-term 12

3 The South Platte Vision

The South Platte Vision – Meeting the Municipal Supply Gap § § § § Successful IPPs Conservation and reuse Multipurpose projects Storage, additional conveyance and system integration Environmental and recreational protections and enhancements Agricultural transfer – through ATMs where feasible New Colorado River supply 14

The South Platte Vision – Future Agricultural Production § Minimize the impacts of traditional dry-up § Encourage continued agricultural production and restoration of curtailed production § Integrated development of new Colorado River Supply 15

The South Platte Vision – Protecting Environmental and Recreational Attributes § Identify and implement attribute-specific projects to enhance environmental and recreational attributes § Encourage cooperative projects to enhance environmental and recreational attributes § Encourage funding and cooperation § Promote cooperative storage for environmental and recreational needs

The South Platte Vision – Collaborative Statewide Approach § The Roundtables envision that if state water project(s) are considered they would: o Supply water to communities with enhanced levels of conservation & reuse o Provide environmental and recreational enhancements for both east and west slopes 17

4 Challenges

16 Major Challenges in Meeting the Gaps 1. Lack of unappropriated water 2. Needs have long exceeded the native supplies 3. Degree of successive water use 4. Limitations on additional water reuse 5. Further reductions in per-capita consumption are limited 6. Additional use of Denver Basin Aquifer water 7. Opportunity for groundwater storage 8. Use of the South Platte alluvial aquifer 19

16 Major Challenges in Meeting the Gaps 9. Republican River Basin water use constraints 10. Programs to manage and recover protected species and their habitats 11. Water quality management 12. Time and cost for regulatory decisions on new water projects 13. Diverse environmental and recreational water needs and concerns 14. Vulnerability to water service disruptions 15. Opportunities for further system interconnections 16. Roles of elected officials, business community 20 and the

The Challenges Drive the Solutions 16 Major Challenges in Meeting the Gap South Platte BIP 10 Plan Elements for the South Platte BIP 21

5 Plan Elements

1. Maximize Implementation of Identified Projects and Processes Estimated Yield (AFY) 40, 000 Basin South Platte Project Northern Integrated Supply Project South Platte Windy Gap Firming Project 30, 000 Metro Moffat Collection System Project (Denver Water, Arvada) 18, 000 Metro Rueter Hess Reservoir Enlargement (Parker WSD, Town of Castle Rock, Castle Pines North, Stonegate) 14, 810 Metro Thornton Northern Project 13, 500 Metro ECCV Northern Expansion 12, 700 Metro Aurora’s Eagle River Joint-Use Project (Eagle River MOU) 10, 000 South Platte Chatfield Reservoir Storage Reallocation Project 8, 500 South Platte Fort Collins Halligan Reservoir Enlargement 7, 000 South Platte Greeley’s Milton Seaman Reservoir Enlargement 6, 600

M&I Medium Scenario Gap 1 400 000 1 200 000 Acre-Feet/Year 1 000 178, 000 AF/Y 800 000 250, 000 AF/Y 600 000 2008 2010 2020 2030 Medium Success IPPs (60%) Existing Supply 735, 000 AF/Y 400 000 Gap 2040 2050

M&I Gap by County IPP s Remaining Gap 25

2. Maintain Leadership in M&I Conservation and Reuse South Platte Basin municipalities are among the national leaders in water conservation § South Platte Basin municipalities are pursuing even more aggressive conservation goals § Baseline 2010 Residential Indoor 43. 7 Non-Residential 37. 5 Indoor Outdoor 62. 8 Water Loss 10. 9 TOTAL GPCD 155 Measure Metro 2050 34 Rest of South Platte Basin Reduction Baseline 2050 Reduction (%) 2010 (%) 22% 60. 1 40 33% 32 15% 39. 2 33 15% 54 9 129 15% 17% 73. 7 15 188 63 10 146 15% 33% 22% Metro SINCE 2000 TOTAL GPCD 2000 2050 191 129 Reduction (%) 32% Rest of South Platte Basin Reduction 2000 2050 (%) 200 146 27%

2. Maintain Leadership in M&I Conservation and Reuse § § Reuse is being pursued by nearly all water providers Opportunities for future reuse in Metro and South Platte are limited due to regulatory and supply constraints Basin Project Metro Aurora’s Prairie Waters Project Expansion & Storage Metro Denver Water Reuse Metro WISE (SMWSA, Denver Water, Aurora) Estimated Yield (AFY) Variable 17, 500 7, 225 “South Platte River Basin will continue its Leadership Role in Efficient Use and Management of Water” 27

3. Maximize effective use of South Platte Supplies § Develop new multipurpose projects § Effectively use tributary and non-tributary groundwater § Explore further integration of supply systems 28

4. Minimize traditional agricultural buy and dry – use ATMs where practical § § Historically, traditional agricultural transfers (“buy and dry”) between willing buyers and sellers to meet M&I demands Alternative Transfer Methods (ATMs) o o o Minimize impact on local economy Minimize societal impacts Minimize environmental and recreational impacts Provide funding sources for agricultural users Optimize both agricultural and nonagricultural benefits § Pilot projects underway through CWCB’s ATM Grant Program § While promising, there are numerous technical, legal, institutional and financial issues that need to be 29

5. Protect and enhance environmental and recreational attributes Types of projects: § Instream flow and lake level § Channel restoration § Stewardship § Species reintroduction § Cooperative and multipurpose projects 30

5. Protect and enhance environmental and recreational attributes § Municipal and Industrial Projects § Agricultural Dry-up § Alternative Transfer Methods § Multi-Purpose Projects § Storage § Recharge § Diversion Modification or Reoperation § Trans-Basin Projects § Reduction of return flows impacting environmental and recreational attributes § Enhancement and/or reduction of streamflows § Benefits and impacts to wetlands and other wildlife habitat 31

5. Protect and enhance environmental and recreational attributes Regions Identified by BRTs – Project Examples Lower Northern High Plains Metro Region Upper Mounta in

5. Protect and enhance environmental and recreational attributes Regions Identified by BRTs – Project Examples Upper Mountain Region • Attributes: • Rare and Significant Plant Species • Boating • Fishing • Projects • Stewardship • Channel and Riparian Corridor Restoration

5. Protect and enhance environmental and recreational attributes Regions Identified by BRTs – Project Examples Metro Region • Attributes: • Recreational Corridors • Riparian Habitat • Fish Habitat • Projects • Greenway Projects • Stream Channel Restoration • Stewardship • Species Reintroduction

5. Protect and enhance environmental and recreational attributes Regions Identified by BRTs – Project Examples Northern Region • Attributes: • Recreational Boating • Plains Fish Species • Wild and Scenic • Projects • Facilities Modification • Stream Channel Restoration

5. Protect and enhance environmental and recreational attributes Regions Identified by BRTs – Project Examples Lower South Platte Region • Attributes: • Plains Fish Species • Waterfowl Hunting/Viewing • Flatwater Boating • Riparian Habitat • Projects • Species Reintroduction • Cooperative Recharge Projects • Reservoirs

6. Simultaneously advance new Colorado River supply options South Platte and Metro RTs support on-going IBCC discussions § § South Platte Alternative Concepts include: o o A single, larger project: various configurations of Flaming Gorge, Green River and Yampa River projects Smaller or incremental projects § BRTs do not support the default agricultural transfer only plan § Seek to “A develop balanced, integrated plan including Balanced Program is needed to Colorado. Plan River projects and agricultural transfers for the and Preserve Colorado River overall benefit of Colorado Options” 37

7. Manage risk of climate change impacts § Resilient water storage and conveyance infrastructure § Use of safety factors § Evaluate potential system vulnerabilities § Collaborative, regional approaches (such as WISE) 38

8. Facilitate effective South Platte communication and outreach programs Suggested Activities: § Develop consistent message to describe water supply gaps § Leverage communication professionals § Complement existing state efforts § Develop and maintain basin-specific tools and approaches § Establish success metrics 39

9. Research new technologies and strategies § Make use of lower quality water sources: o o Blending strategies and advanced water treatment technologies Research and develop new technologies Participating Agencies: Colorado Zero Liquid • Colorado Water Conservation Board Discharge o WSRA Statewide Fund o Metro RT WSRA Fund o South Platte RT WSRA Fund o Arkansas RT WSRA Fund • Metro Wastewater Reclamation District • City of Aurora • City of Brighton • East Cherry Creek Valley WSD • City of La Junta • Northern Water • South Adams County WSD • Arapahoe County Water and Wastewater Authority 40

10. Advocate for improvements to federal and state permitting processes Goals: § Save public money § Provide same assurance of quality and due diligence § Retain existing environmental protections § Provide greater efficiency, predictability, and consistency in the permitting process 41

6 Alternative Portfolios

Alternative South Platte Portfolios § Portfolio A: In-basin portfolio with only traditional buy and dry § Portfolio B: In-basin portfolio with IPPs at 60% success, ATMs, multipurpose/cooperative projects, and traditional agricultural transfers § Portfolio C: A balanced portfolio with in-basin methods and new Colorado River supplies (150, 000 AF) 43

Alternative South Platte Portfolios 44

Alternative South Platte Portfolios – Additional Conservation 45

Alternative South Platte Portfolios – Climate Change 46

7 Summary 47

Overarching Themes for South Platte BIP § “A Good Colorado Plan Needs a Good South Platte Plan” § Solutions must be pragmatic, balanced, and consistent with Colorado law and property rights § The South Platte River Basin will continue its leadership role in efficient use and management of water § A balanced program is needed to investigate, preserve, and develop Colorado River options 48