Thursday, April 27, 2006

HB 1124 The state Senate approved HB 1124 (pdf) (Concerning The Adjudication Of A Rotational Crop Management Contract, And Making An Appropriation In Connection Therewith.) this week, according to the Rocky Mountain News. From the article, "Farmers interested in sharing their water with fast-growing cities along the Front Range will be able to do so more easily under legislation approved by the Colorado Senate this week. "Under House Bill 1124, farmers will be able to idle portions of their land from one year to the next without jeopardizing their legal right to the water. Cities would then pay the farmers to take the unused water using long-term contracts. "The idea is to keep as much irrigated land working as possible, while providing farmers a way to generate extra cash and giving cities access to badly needed new water supplies. "'Right now big cities are buying up farms and drying them up. That kills the farms and the communities,' said Rep. Mary Hodge, the Brighton Democrat who sponsored HB-1124. 'This bill allows a farmer to sell or lease a portion of his water. It gives him more flexibility.' "In Colorado and other Western states, farms control more than 80 percent of the water. But permanently buying the water from farm communities often means crippling rural economies and drying up thousands of acres of profitable farms. "Until now, if farmers opted to lease water to cities on a long-term basis, their ability to maintain longterm ownership of the water could have been jeopardized, under Colorado water laws. Those laws, originally written to prevent people from hoarding water, require that farmers and others who own water rights actually put the water to use. "HB1124 removes that problem and clarifies how farm water can be administered when portions of a farmer's water are being removed from the land temporarily. Proponents believe the bill is likely to make it easier for fast-growing cities such as Parker and Castle Rock to tap agricultural water supplies in the South Platte River Basin, which encompasses the metro area and most of the northeastern quadrant of the state. "Parker is already eyeing a plan that would rely on longterm agreements to tap water from farms in Logan County and pipe it back to the south metro area." Category: Colorado Water 7:26:20 PM     Halligan and Seaman reservoir expansion North Forty News: "As Fort Collins, Greeley and other water users move forward with the Halligan-Seaman reservoir expansion project, effects on agriculture are an important part of the study process. This question has been raised: Will more ag land be taken from production as a result of the project? Water users are saying that, while more land will inevitably be removed from agriculture as the Front Range grows, expanding the reservoirs could actually provide some protection for farmers. In the case of Fort Collins, which wants to expand Halligan Reservoir, the city already owns enough ag water to fill the reservoir... "Some of the ag water owned by Fort Collins is currently rented back to farmers. Donnie Dustin, an engineer with Fort Collins Utilities, said that except in the driest years, there should be significant rental water available to farmers even while Halligan Reservoir is filling. Having additional storage will cut down on the number of water rights the city has to buy, Dustin noted. If the reservoir isn't enlarged, the most likely scenario for drought protection would be to purchase additional ag rights. In the long run, Dustin said, as the city grows it will be using more of its ag rights and renting fewer of them back to farmers. Hoelscher said that both Fort Collins and the Tri-Districts, another partner in the project, currently obtain additional water rights as new developments go in. Thus, ag land is lost to development, but not as the result of a water storage project. "Greeley, which wants to expand Seaman Reservoir, is in a different situation. According to John Scott, a consultant with Scott Water Engineers of Fort Collins, Greeley will have to buy more water rights to fill an expanded reservoir. Some ag land could be dried up as a result. North Poudre Irrigation Co. also has a stake in the project and a viewpoint on the ag issue. NPIC owned Halligan Reservoir until just a few years ago, when the company sold it to Fort Collins. If the reservoir is expanded, NPIC has requested an additional 5,000 acre-feet of storage. NPIC sees the reservoir project as one way to help preserve agriculture, according to manager Steve Smith. NPIC needs extra water two to three years out of every 10 for agricultural use, and additional storage would help meet that demand. Having extra storage would benefit all NPIC shareholders in dry years, Smith noted, including those on the north end who are most difficult to reach. Smith said the concept of a project 'drying up' ag land can be misleading. 'It's an economic thing, driven by price, supply and demand,' he said. Water in northern Colorado is very valuable, so some farmers sell most of their water and then count on renting it back. 'It's a gamble,' Smith noted." Category: Colorado Water 6:46:30 PM     20,000 acres of farmland taken out of production in lower Arkansas Valley Pueblo Chieftain: "Almost 20,000 acres of farmland in the Arkansas Valley will be taken out of production this year to provide augmentation for wells, according to figures submitted to the state. "Farmers have felt the pinch each year following a 1995 Supreme Court decision that found wells drilled in Colorado after the 1949 Arkansas River Compact reduced flows to Kansas. "In 1996, the state adopted well rules that required either installing meters or using a formula to determine depletions. Flows to the river must be augmented with other sources of water. "Three major well associations formed to help well owners augment flows, and have taken different routes toward finding the water for augmentation. "The Lower Arkansas Water Management Assoc., which operates primarily below John Martin Reservoir, bought surface rights to augment its flows. LAWMA is obtaining a change of use decree to permanently change those rights and dry up farmland. "A total of 13,758 acres were dried up on several ditch systems. "Many of the farmers in LAWMA had both surface rights and wells, meaning in some cases a choice of which land to irrigate was made. "The Arkansas Groundwater Users Assoc. uses a mix of leases and shares of Excelsior Ditch in Pueblo County for augmentation. A total of 1,763 acres were taken out of production. "Colorado Water Protective and Development Assoc. primarily relies on leases, but owns some water as well. This year's dry-up figure for the group is 3,716 acres. "Colorado is still wrapping up issues in the Supreme Court case more than a decade after the decision. Still on the table are issues surrounding court costs, the computer model that determines state-line deliveries and limitations on accumulation of water credits." Category: Colorado Water 7:02:13 AM     Effects of global warming on Denver Water Denver Water is trying to predict the impact of warmer weather in Colorado on water supplies. According to the Rocky Mountain News our warming trend may reduce water supplies by 12%. From the article, "Denver Water could see its customers' thirst for water rise dramatically and its supplies shrink if Colorado's temperatures rise an average of 2 degrees, a scenario that is possible as climate change occurs, the agency says... "The agency derives about half of its annual water supply from the headwaters of the Colorado River and the rest from the South Platte River. A study by the United States Geological Survey published late last year indicates that higher temperatures could reduce the Colorado River's flows 10 percent or more and that could jeopardize Denver's share of the river. One of the key issues the board is examining is how large a water reserve it should maintain. The agency's system generates just over 325,000 acre feet of water annually. It maintains a reserve of 30,000 acre feet. The reserve is designed to help the agency survive a multi-year drought or to cope with a major breakdown in its water supply system. Now, climate change is being factored into the agency's reserve calculations." Category: Colorado Water 6:57:23 AM

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