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Shallow Ground Water Development for the Small Colorado Town
Author(s) -
Montgomery Errol L.
Publication year - 1967
Publication title -
journal ‐ american water works association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.466
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1551-8833
pISSN - 0003-150X
DOI - 10.1002/j.1551-8833.1967.tb03367.x
Subject(s) - groundwater , appropriation , surface water , water resource management , environmental science , water development , resource (disambiguation) , doctrine , water resources , streams , water use , hydrology (agriculture) , environmental engineering , geology , law , computer science , ecology , political science , computer network , philosophy , linguistics , geotechnical engineering , biology
This article discusses shallow groundwater as a suitable resource for small municipalities seeking to improve their water situation. At this time nearly all of the surface water streams in Colorado are overappropriated. This means that there are more water rights than there is water. Development in many areas need not be curtailed because of this fact. Shallow groundwater, which has many beneficial characteristics for the small town, is often available for development, and usually at lower cost than nearby surface sources that require more extensive treatment before use. Furthermore, water rights for groundwater need not be as early a priority as for surface water sources, where the “appropriation doctrine” governs water use under the concept of “first in time, first in right.”