There may be nearly 3 million acre-feet of groundwater storage available in the Arkansas River Basin, but not all of it would be practical to use. Those conclusions come from a state report of potential aquifer storage and recharge completed for the state of Colorado earlier this year, which built upon research of state aquifers by the Colorado Geological Survey. Following recommendations from groundwater users within the basins, the firm of Camp Dresser & McKee completed research earlier this year on sites along the South Platte River, Arkansas River and Denver Basin. The most favorable sites in the Lower Arkansas Valley total more than 700,000 acre-feet, with another 2.4 million acre-feet in the Upper Arkansas Valley. One of the sites, the Widefield Aquifer along Fountain Creek, has been recharging the aquifer since the 1970s. Another, the Upper Black Squirrel Creek groundwater basin is now under study as a storage site.

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