U.S. Water News Online
DENVER -- The heavily populated South Platte River basin will need an additional 52,000 acre feet of water -- enough for 100,000 families -- by 2030.
A statewide study says even more will be needed if Denver-area communities fail to build planned water projects, including dams.
``There will be opposition to a lot of these projects, and if they don't move forward, that gap is going to increase,'' said Rod Kuharich, director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board.
The findings are part of a $2.7 million study looking at how much water the state will need, existing supplies and any gaps between demand and supply. The Statewide Water Supply Project is examining eight major river basins, from Durango to Sterling, Alamosa and Steamboat Springs.
Water use in the South Platte River basin, which serves Denver and other Front Range cities, is expected to increase 53% during the next 26 years. Demand is forecast to rise to 1.2 million acre feet of water from the current 772,500.
Water utilities say they can meet all but 52,000 acre feet of that demand.
An acre foot of water equals about 326,000 gallons, enough water for two families for a year.
``I think these numbers are useful just to give people some sense of what we're looking at,'' said David Nickum, director of the Colorado chapter of Trout Unlimited.
He was among the environmentalists, utility representatives and politicians at a meeting for participants in the water study.
Nickum and others said researchers must address at least two more key issues: protecting water supplies for streams and wetlands and the effect of water transfers between basins.
Diversions of water from the Western Slope to the more populous Front Range have touched off numerous political battles in the past. The new study, to be presented to the Legislature in November, has stirred concerns on both sides of the Continental Divide.
Western Colorado communities worry the state will push to siphon off more of the area's water. Cities along the South Platte fear they won't get access to water they will need as the drought continues and the population keeps growing.
Researchers have said the Front Range shouldn't necessarily count on getting more water from the Colorado or Gunnison river basins in the western part of the state.
As the research continues, study groups in each river basin will look at meeting any gaps in water supplies by building new dams, reservoirs and pipelines and conservation.
Return to the U.S. Water News Archives page Or Return to the U.S. Water News Homepage
Editor@uswaternews.com
*Your Name:
*Your Email:
*Friend's Email:
Use a comma to separate e-mail addresses:
*Your Comments:
Hi, I thought you might like to read this article.
*Required Fields