Specifications include, but are not limited to: Task 1 - DESCRIPTION OF STORAGE TYPES WITHIN COLORADO Task 1 is to identify and describe all types of water storage currently being utilized within Colorado. These types of storage will include, but are not limited to the following. ● Surface Water Storage: This will include listing and describing reservoir types ranging from large to small, with varying uses, as well as gravel pits, and other surface water storage options, etc. It will include descriptions and pros and cons of each. ● Ground Water Storage: This will include listing and describing a range of groundwater storage options across variable aquifer types including but not limited to alluvial aquifers, Ogallala, bedrock, fractured granite, confined and unconfined, and high mountain aquifer storage, etc. This task should include case studies for the following groundwater storage examples: Denver Basin, Ogallala and Republican, Terry Ranch/Greeley. This task should also include discussion of the use of Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) and evaluation of the pros and cons of each type of groundwater storage option. ● Other Types of Storage Potential: This task will include a listing and describing the range of other types of potential storage available in Colorado, including but not limited to nature-based solutions, re-allocation of flood storage to active storage, sediment removal, and include creative storage case studies such as the London Mine. It will include a description of the pros and cons for each listed type. TASK 2 - ANALYSIS OF POTENTIAL FOR ADDITIONAL STORAGE IN COLORADO Task 2 is to research potential for new storage development in the state. This will include revising the 2019 Technical Update to the 2019 Technical Update Memo: Opportunities for Increasing Storage. Revising the memo will address potential for new storage development under 3 alternatives (constrained ,medium, and high storage development) and identify maximum potential over time, along with feasibility in the “near term” (2050-2070). The 2019 Technical Update and the 2023 Water Plan (based on the Technical Update findings suggested that storage could nearly double under the right conditions. This study seeks to review and refine those numbers (depending on new results/data), and to provide context for how that could be achieved. TASK 3 - EVALUATION OF STORAGE BARRIERS, FUTURE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES Task 3 is to identify and explain challenges and opportunities within water storage in Colorado. Identified challenges and opportunities should include, but are not limited to, multibenefit reservoir utilization (e.g. floating solar, hydropower, recreation & environmental uses, Collaborative Water Sharing Agreements), challenges associated with evaporative losses and climate change, best utilization of flood storage capacity, reservoir enlargement versus new reservoir construction, distributed storage, balancing conservation and storage, permitting, water banking, etc. A discussion of how natural hazards including drought, flood, and fire, or other factors (e.g. aging infrastructure, etc.) may impact storage potential should be included in this task. This discussion should include up to 10, short (3-5 paragraph), regionally diverse (across Colorado) case studies that exemplify various opportunities and challenges. Some examples might include Floating Solar in Walden, the Voluntary Flow Management Program in the Arkansas (related to storage), Yampa River flow management and storage releases during drought, Bonnie Reservoir impacts from loss of storage to local economies, Blue Mesa releases and the recreation and economic impacts related to low water levels, 2013 Boulder flood and related reservoir concerns, Greeley’s Terry Ranch, Rio Grande Valley aquifer sustainability, Connectivity Channel at Windy Gap, etc. This task should include reflections of the recent experiences of local governments and communities that have permitted and/or negotiated water storage projects, and the various state and federal agencies involved in permitting water storage projects. Ultimately, the study should highlight the best opportunities for increasing storage in existing facilities through sediment removal, storage reallocation, dam improvements/enlargements, new surface water storage facility construction, and the use of groundwater aquifer recharge to enhance storage.
