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County groundwater report: PETRA modeling finds more Denver Basin volume than SB5 allocations; wells show small declines with local margin concerns
Summary
Consultants presented a draft groundwater chapter showing PETRA geophysical modeling yields greater gross volumes in several Denver Basin aquifers than SB5-derived legal allocations, while 15-year water-level trends show modest countywide declines with larger local margins near the hogback.
Consultants working on the Douglas County Water Plan presented a draft groundwater analysis that compares modern PETRA-based geophysical data with the legal quantification method under Senate Bill 5 and extended an earlier USGS trend analysis through 2025.
"Based on current data and current tools, what is the quantification of the Denver Basin groundwater," said Bill Fronczak of LRE Water, summarizing the technical objectives. Fronczak said the team used PETRA geologic modeling and compiled more than 10,000 well records countywide to assess storage and saturated thickness across the Denver Basin aquifers.
The consultants reported 10,375 wells in the county’s inventory after including mountain/forested wells and fractured-granite completions. They said municipal providers more often access deeper aquifers (Denver and Arapahoe) while many individual on-lot wells tap shallower units such as the Dawson. The team analyzed roughly 555 wells for geophysical cross-sections and…
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