South Platte Aquifer
 Here's an article from today's Rocky Mountain News about the South Platte River and the depletion of the aquifer that charges the river and irrigates the dry land on the eastern plains [June 18, 2005, "Water woes threaten farmers"]. Of course any story about water here in Colorado often leads to a story about farmers that are being driven out of business. In this case it's either the farmers with senior rights on the river or the farmers with junior rights pumping from the aquifer.
From the article, "But when the 2002 drought struck, suddenly the water the region had luxuriated in was gone. Almost overnight a water battle erupted that would involve nearly everyone who had ever cultivated along the South Platte. Farmers with senior water rights watched the river shrink and their fields burn up in the sun, while farms with wells produced field after field of corn, wheat and sugar beets. Now, the well-pumping that had been a casual coffee-shop topic for decades was worth fighting over. By the fall of that bitterly dry year, the farmers with senior water rights had sued the state, claiming that it had failed to properly administer the well- pumping program, damaging the river and their senior water rights."
The feds are hoping that the public will bail 'em out and figure out how to save the Colorado River, according to the Denver Post [June 18, 2005, "Comments sought on managing water"]. From the article, "Among questions to be addressed is how federal officials should parcel water when reservoirs are low. Federal officials also are proposing the development of criteria for managing Lakes Powell and Mead to help California, Nevada and Arizona plan for water shortages. Currently, there is no plan on how to curtail water delivery to the Lower Colorado River Basin."
Category: Colorado Water
8:58:44 AM 
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