Is the answer to Colorado water woes underground?

The ground beneath our feet isn't as solid as we may think it is. In many places, it's downright soggy.

Aquifers, or underground reserves of water, permeate the state. Many are pumped and used for irrigation or for drinking. But replenishing them typically means waiting for high flows or rain and letting nature take its course as the water seeps back into the earth.

Which leads to a fairly simple question: If we can pump water out, why can't we pump water in?

"It's another storage vehicle," state Rep. Jeni Arndt, D-Fort Collins, said. "It's logical, it's practical. It should be part of our future water plan."

To that extent, Arndt introduced a bill in the Legislature requiring the state engineer to create rules for artificially recharging these underground water bins. Arndt's proposal has soared — or should we say flowed freely — through the House and now awaits a turn in the Senate.

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The proposal doesn't jump-start the development of aquifer recharging programs, but it would create the framework for such programs at a state level. Arndt and others said the key is putting in guards against contaminating an aquifer and avoiding entanglements with the water rights of individuals and neighboring states.

It's not as revolutionary an idea as some may think. Denver Water is working on a pilot program for aquifer storage and recovery and Arizona uses aquifer recharging to prevent undue evaporation in desert climates.

"It's not really debatable if (aquifer recharging) is proven or not. It is," said Joe Meigs, a senior project manager with Lytle Water Solutions. "It would be really good if people embraced that and then people tried to move forward with an (aquifer recharge) program to buffer their water supplies."

Typical use of these programs works like this, he said: Some years have a lot of surface water, such as when high snow totals melt and flow down the Rockies and inundate normal needs. When that happens, some of the overflow is diverted back into the aquifers — after a making sure its clean, of course — where it can be pumped out during low-flow periods.

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"You're really looking for a place to store water and an alternative to building a reservoir," Meigs said.

That said, not all aquifers are created equal. Some are tributary, which means any water pumped in would simply flow away. That happens to be the type of aquifer that dominates the Fort Collins area.

Brian Werner, spokesperson for Northern Water, said recharging aquifers along the north Front Range wouldn't be a panacea for Northern Colorado's future water needs. Northern Water looked at the hydrology of the area and concluded that above-ground storage remains the "biggest bang for your buck." Northern Water is proposing the controversial Northern Integrated Supply Project, which would include construction of the Glade and Galeton reservoirs in Northern Colorado.

"There's just not a lot in the non-tributary area that we think is viable, but obviously every little bit helps," he said.

How aquifer recharge works

• Certain areas below ground are home to large deposits of water, called aquifers.
• We currently pump water out of them and then, largely, rely on Mother Nature to recharge them.
• Artificial recharge means pumping water back into the ground. The same wells used for injection can then pull water back up in times of need.