Date: 10/29/2015
Final
Need for Water Storage in South Platte Bas
WATER RESOURCES REVIEW COMMITTEE
| Votes: View--> | Action Taken: |
| <none> | <none> |
10:27 AM -- Proposed Narrows Project and Need for Water Storage in the South Platte Basin
Don Ament, Colorado's Representative on the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program Governance Committee and Former Chair of Citizens for Narrows, discussed the history of the proposed Narrows Project that would have been located on the main stem of the South Platte River near Fort Morgan. The dam would have been four miles long with storage capacity of 636,000 acre feet. The project would have primarily provided water for irrigation and provided ancillary flood control, fish and wildlife conservation and development, public outdoor recreation, and municipal and industrial supplies. Mr. Ament explained that the project was not built because President Carter withheld federal support for it. The conditional water rights for the project have since expired due to the cost of maintaining these rights. He discussed the need for additional agricultural water supplies in the South Platte Basin and identified obstacles to building a large storage project on the South Platte River. He also identified less controversial alternatives to capture additional water in the basin including off-channel surface storage, storage in lined gravel pits, and underground storage. He discussed the Platte River Recovery Program for endangered species in Nebraska and explained how it may affect Colorado's ability to use its full entitlement under the South Platte River Compact.
10:48 AM
Mr. Ament responded to questions from the committee about obstacles to building a large water storage project in the South Platte Basin including the federal permit process and the Platte River Recovery Program. He also identified proposed off-channel reservoirs, including the proposed Ovid Reservoir in the lower South Platte Basin.