Here's a background piece from the Rocky Mountain News about the future of the farming economy along the South Platte River as urban growth leads to competition for their water [August 27, 2005, "Plowed under by urban thirst"]. From the article, "Here in the South Platte River Basin, the state's largest urban center and largest irrigated farm economy have coexisted for more than a century. But the bucolic picture is changing fast. Experts say 25 years from now, farm acreage in the basin, which occupies most of the northeast quadrant of Colorado, may have shrunk as much as 30 percent, mainly because cities are so desperate for water they'll outbid anyone to get it, drying up hundreds of farms in the process. Longtime farmers, battered by low crop prices, are choosing to sell their water to cities, as others, like Strohauer, struggle to hold on. Competition for water between cities and farmers is already taking a toll. Ten years ago, Strohauer was one of 40 potato growers in Weld County. Today, he is one of two. For a man whose grandfather helped build the first sugar beet factory in Greeley, the notion of moving even some of his operations to Kansas is mind-bending."
Here's a short article from the Rocky about the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy. From the article, "Though cities now own the majority of the district's water, they continue to lease much of it back to farmers. The exception was in 2003, when the drought-stricken cities chose to hold on to their supplies. That year, for the first time in the district's history, more water was used in urban areas than on South Platte Basin farms, according to district manager Eric Wilkinson."
Meanwhile Wyoming is looking to build more water storage to keep water in state that is now flowing down river, according to the AP via the Rocky Mountain News [August 26, 2005, "Wyoming aims to expand water storage"]. From the article, "Each year, Wyoming receives about 18 million acre-feet of surface water from rain, snow and other states. Interstate river compacts and court decrees permit Wyoming to use about 4 million acre-feet. But the state uses just 2.8 million."
Howling At A Waning Moon: "Water returns to Iraqi marshlands."
Category: Colorado Water
8:03:26 AM 
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