In the News
Dr. Ken Knox has resigned from his position as Division 1 Engineer.
Jim Hall has been selected as his replacement at least temporarily. More
information will be posted once it becomes available.
Hearing Rules Public Meeting June 24th
The State of Colorado, Division of Water Resources announces a public meeting regarding the proposed
Measurement Rules for the Republican River Basin to be held on June 24, 2008. The meeting will be held
at 10:00 AM at the Wray Rehabilitation and Activities Center, 700 S. Main Street, Wray, CO, 80758.
The purpose of this public meeting is to solicit any final comments or questions prior to the formal
hearing for the Measurement Rules scheduled for July 2 and 3, 2008.
A copy of the most recent draft is provided at http://water.state.co.us/wateradmin/republicanriver/rules/Republican_MeasurementRules_published.pdf
also see http://water.state.co.us/wateradmin/republicanriver/republicanriverrules.asp for appendix
DOW pulls out of water litigation
Written by From the Division of Wildlife
Friday, 30 May 2008
From the Division of Wildlife
The Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW) has withdrawn from litigation
involving water rights it owns which supply water to the Wray Fish Hatchery.
DOW has identified an alternative water supply option for the Wray State
Fish Hatchery, which if implemented should allow the hatchery to continue to
produce warm water fish for the next 20-25 years.
The Wray State Fish Hatchery has been in operation since 1937. DOW has
seen a decline in the available water supply at the hatchery's Chief Creek
pipeline diversion in recent years. In response to the declining flows, the
DOW purchased senior water surface rights and implemented water conservation
measures to maintain fish production at the facility. Other surface water
users downstream experienced the same decline in flows and believed it was
due to groundwater pumping from a large number of wells in the Northern High
Plains Designated Groundwater Basin.
In 2005, the Pioneer and Laird Ditches initiated a hearing with the
Ground Water Commission (GWC) requesting that the wells be administered
pursuant to the prior appropriation doctrine (first in time-first in right)
along with the senior surface rights.
The DOW believed that joining the GWC proceedings was necessary and
appropriate in order to protect the interests of sportsman and local
economies throughout the state that depend upon recreational fishing
opportunities provided by the Wray State Fish Hatchery.
The DOW has also been working on alternative strategies for providing
adequate flows to the hatchery that don't rely on shutting any irrigation
wells down, a possible outcome if the litigants were successful.
The preferred alternative is a combination of surface water sources and
water conservation measures implemented at the hatchery. The surface water
sources include pumping water through a pipeline from the North Fork of the
Republican River (using existing DOW water rights) to the hatchery, while
the conservation measures would include lining the ten un-lined hatchery
ponds to minimize leakage.
Additionally, the City of Wray has graciously offered the use of some of
its wells for augmentation purposes. The DOW expects that collectively these
measures should provide the necessary water to the hatchery for a minimum of
20-25 years.
The DOW is estimating the cost of this solution to be approximately $6
million. The DOW has agreed to contribute up to $2 million for the pond
lining because it believes this is an appropriate conservation action to
make the most efficient use of a scarce resource.
Senator Jim Isgar (D-Hesperus), Chair of the Senate Agriculture, Natural
Resources and Energy Committee; Representative Kathleen Curry (D- Gunnison),
chair of the House Agriculture, Livestock and Natural Resources Committee;
Senator Greg Brophy (R- Wray); and Representative Cory Gardner (R-Yuma) have
agreed to work to secure funding for alternative water sources for the
hatchery as part of a broader solution to Republican River water issues.
"We are fortunate that these legislators are committed to helping us
solve this problem," said Tom Remington, Director of the DOW. "Their
interest and support allows us to pursue options for solving our water
shortage at the hatchery outside of a courtroom. The Wray hatchery is a
critical piece of our warm water fishing program, which would cost upwards
of $30 million to replace. A comparatively small investment can keep it in
production for perhaps another 25 years without impacting area water users,
something that is very attractive to us because we value our relationship
with the communities of eastern Colorado and recognize the importance of the
agricultural economy."
Colorado's solution in
pipeline
Story from OmahaNewsstand
As Nebraska and Kansas
water czars wade closer to non-binding arbitration to
settle troubles over sharing Republican River water, Colorado is
moving
ahead with plans to divert itself out of the fray.
"Frankly, when you're in a hole, you need to stop digging deeper,"
said Ken
Knox, deputy state engineer for the Colorado Division of Water
Resources.
This week, Knox and his boss, Dick Wolfe, the state engineer, hope
to
convince their Nebraska and Kansas counterparts that Colorado's
pipeline
plan is a viable solution to that state's share of basin water
problems.
"I can't make it rain," Knox said, explaining the necessity
of building
a $71 million pipeline to the Nebraska border and pumping
underground water
into the Republican River.
The bulk of the cost went to buying water rights on about 9,600
acres of
farmland on Colorado's eastern plains. Colorado paid more than $50
million,
or $5,300 an acre.
A 13-mile pipeline and infrastructure is budgeted at $21 million.
Construction is expected to begin later this year.
The project is financed by a $14.50 tax per irrigated acre on
landowners in
the Republican River Water Conservation District around the streams
that
create the river's headwaters.
Colorado shares water rights on the Republican, a 550-mile river
that flows
from the eastern Plains across part of southern Nebraska and into
part of
northern Kansas. The river provides water for irrigation, drinking,
recreation and other uses in those three states. Its use is governed
by a
1943 compact among the three states that allocates 49 percent to
Nebraska,
40 percent to Kansas and 11 percent to Colorado.
Kansas says Nebraska and Colorado continue to use more than their
share of
the river basin water in violation of water use rules spelled out by
the
U.S. Supreme Court in a 2002 settlement of a Kansas-instigated
lawsuit.
The states could be headed back to the high court.
Colorado's Wolfe, Nebraska's Ann Bleed and Kansas' David Barfield
plan to
meet Tuesday and Wednesday in Kansas City, Mo., in a special meeting
of the
Republican River Compact Administration.
The meeting was forced when Barfield submitted Kansas's dispute with
Nebraska to the compact administration as a fasttrack issue in
February.
Kansas formally declared in December that Nebraska significantly
consumed
more than its share of Republican River water from 2003 through
2006.
Farmers use the vast majority of water pumped out of the basin to
irrigate
crops. Excessive usage violates the compact that allocates
Republican water
among the three basin states.
Barfield proposed that Nebraska cease pumping from all irrigation
wells
within 2.5 miles of the Republican and its tributaries and from
wells added
after 2000. He also demands that Nebraska pay unspecified monetary
damages.
Nebraska state and local water officials oppose Barfield's remedy as
inefficient and likely to have a devastating economic impact on
farmers and
communities.
Bleed, Barfield and Wolfe are the compact administration's only
members. If
they don't resolve the dispute with a unanimous vote during this
week's
meetings, Kansas is expected to invoke nonbinding arbitration.
"We're all to agree. If not, I assume we'll be in arbitration,"
Bleed said.
If arbitration fails, Barfield has said Kansas would sue Nebraska in
the
U.S. Supreme Court.
Bleed is expected to defend Nebraska's attempts to remedy its
overuse of the
river water. These include reducing groundwater pumping by farmers
and
buying river water from irrigators who hold rights to the flows and
release
it downstream to Kansas.
Nebraska's state and local water managers have informally discussed
following Colorado's pipeline example and pumping water into the
Republican
near Guide Rock, where the river flows into Kansas.
But such river augmentation projects aren't yet part of Nebraska's
working
list of remedies for its troubles with Kansas.
Knox said Colorado, like Nebraska, wrestles with how to meet its
water
obligations to its downstream neighbors without damaging the rural
economy.
"It's simplistic, but what Nebraska and Kansas choose to do or not
do is
their business," he said. "We're trying to get our house in order."
The pipeline project is one tool Colorado can use to comply with the
compact.
"We're looking at this issue with binoculars," Knox said. "The
pipeline
helps us immediately - during the next 10 to 20 years - but I'm
mindful that
we need to prepare for the period 20 to 100 years from now."
Kansas to Push Republican River Water Grievance
With Nebraska
Click to See Article
Water dispute likely headed to outside
arbitrator
By NATE JENKINS Associated Press Writer
Article Last Updated: 05/16/2008 03:05:42 PM MDT
LINCOLN, Neb.—Nebraska and Kansas water
officials on Friday failed to resolve their dispute over
use of Republican River basin water, increasing chances
the issue will return to court.
At stake are millions of dollars and hundreds of
thousands of acres of irrigated land.
The two sides, along with Colorado water officials,
met over two days in a last-ditch effort to reach
agreement and avoid hiring an arbitrator to help settle
their differences. But the two sides left the talks in
essentially the same position they have been in for
months: Disagreeing over whether Nebraska has a good
plan to comply with a 2003 U.S. Supreme Court decree
that governs water distribution.
David Barfield, chief engineer for the Kansas
Division of Water Resources, said he likely will send a
letter to Nebraska over the next several weeks to start
the arbitration process. If arbitration doesn't lead to
an agreement, he said, Kansas will be ready to take the
issue back to the U.S. Supreme Court.
"Obviously, Kansas is not going to stop short of
having those remedies ... in place, including recovery
of damages, and including a demonstrated plan that will
get Nebraska into compliance in the future," Barfield
said.
Brian Dunnigan, Nebraska's top water official,
wouldn't comment when asked whether his state would come
forward with more proposals to comply with the
three-state compact.
"Certainly we're concerned," he said of Kansas'
contention that Nebraska's plan falls short. "And we're
working very hard to address those concerns."
Colorado and Nebraska, both struggling with drought,
have been using more water from the river than they're
allowed under an agreement with Kansas. To prevent a
lawsuit by Kansas, the Colorado state engineer's office
has recommended shutting down some wells.
Kansas contends Nebraska used about 80,000 acre-feet,
or roughly 26 billion gallons, more than it was allowed
in 2005 and 2006. Kansas has demanded more than $72
million for the overuse in addition to a shutdown of
wells that irrigate nearly half of the 1.2 million acres
in Nebraska's portion of the river basin.
Nebraska officials say Kansas has overstated the
amount of water that was overused and contend that their
long-range plan to get into compliance with the river
compact is sufficient.
The plan includes curtailing groundwater pumping,
buying water from farmers to send downstream to Kansas,
and eradicating water-sucking weeds from the basin.
But Nebraska's current plans to curtail groundwater
pumping in the heavily irrigated basin "don't even
reduce groundwater depletions—they slow the rate of
increase, and they aren't even binding, as far as we can
tell," Barfield said.
Kansas officials have said that sharp cuts in
Nebraska groundwater use are needed because of the
connection between ground and surface water.
Nebraska water officials contend that immediate,
sharp reductions in groundwater pumping will not get
Kansas the water it is owed in the short term because of
a long lag between the time groundwater levels rise and
when that results in more stream flows.
Jasper Fanning, manager of the Upper Republican
Natural Resources District based in Imperial, called
Barfield's assessment of Nebraska's groundwater plans
inaccurate.
Kansas is wrong to assume the so-called integrated
management plans developed by the districts and Nebraska
are permanent and won't change to possibly require
further reductions in the future, Fanning said.
Nebraska and Kansas won't enter the arbitration
process alone. Colorado officials voted with the other
two states Friday, during the meeting of the Republican
River Compact Administration, to begin the process
expected to lead to arbitration.
Colorado and Kansas disagree over how to measure
additional Republican River water Colorado would supply
to Kansas via a $71 million pipeline that could be
completed in the summer of 2009.
The 12 1/2-mile pipeline would take groundwater now
used on 10,000 acres of irrigated farmland in eastern
Colorado to the north fork of the Republican River at
the Colorado-Nebraska state line.
Under the 1943, interstate compact, 49 percent of the
river's water is allocated to Nebraska, 40 percent to
Kansas and 11 percent to Colorado.
In 1998, Kansas sued Nebraska, alleging its neighbor
to the north violated the compact by allowing thousands
of wells to tap the river and its tributaries.
Legislature approves
pipeline funding
Written by K.C. Mason
Thursday, 08 May 2008
DENVER - State
lawmakers, who end their 2008 legislative session this
week, approved a $60.6 million loan to eastern
Colorado farmers to build a
compact-compliance pipeline that will deliver Republican
River water to the
state line.
They also endorsed spending upwards of $15 million to meet
the
three-state agreement on protecting endangered species along
the South
Platte River and preventing the spread of zebra mussels from
Pueblo
Reservoir to other Colorado lakes and ponds.
And anyone who wants to donate a water right to the Colorado
Water
Conservation Board to improve in-stream flow for recreation
and fish habitat
can now do so under the Healthy Rivers Act that Gov. Bill
Ritter signed into
law last month.
But northeastern Colorado's lawmakers couldn't overcome
long-held
grievances over past well depletions from South Platte River
to help Front
Range farmers take advantage of this winter's heavy
snowpack. A late bill
that would have allowed the well users to irrigate and
augment at the same
time never made it out of committee.
"It's over; it will die on the calendar," said Sen. Greg
Brophy, R-Wray,
referring to Senate Bill 247, which he and Sen. Jim Isgar,
D-Hesperus,
introduced last week with the support of the State
Engineer's office.
Brophy, R-Wray, threw in the towel Monday when it became
obvious no one
on the Senate Agriculture Committee was going to have a
change of heart.
The committee voted 3-4 on Friday against the bill, but Isgar
left the
door open for a reversal when he adjourned the committee
without taking a
final procedural vote to postpone the bill indefinitely.
SB 247 would have allowed the irrigators with decreed
augmentation plans
to use leased water from the Colorado-Big Thompson system in
new substitute
water supply plans, which could then be used to pay back
pumping depletions
from before 2003.
Officials from the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy
District, which
administers CBT water, said there was enough snowpack this
year to lease the
extra water to irrigators without injuring senior water
rights on either
side of the Continental Divide.
Hundreds of wells along the Platte in Weld, Adams and Morgan
Counties
were curtailed in 2006 when they were unable to prove they
owned the rights
to augmentation water. Many now have augmentation
plans for current
pumping, but have to use their water to replace the older
depletions.
"We missed an opportunity to help these farmers because the
amount of
water that's got to come over (from the Western Slope) is
fixed," Isgar
said. "Those farmers could have leveraged it into quite a
bit more
irrigation this year and that's the unfortunate thing.
With crop prices
high, it would have been an opportunity for some of them to
catch up."
The opposition focused on the lack of time to consider a
major change in
water policy with less than a week to go in the legislative
session.
Representatives from Sterling, Boulder and Highlands Ranch
all testified
against the bill last week.
"This has not been vetted with many folks in the water
community," said
Sen. Dan Gibbs, D-Silverthorne, one of three Western Slope
senators to
oppose the bill. "We are shooting from the hip on a
really important water
policy that impacts not just a certain basin but the entire
state."
Rep. Mary Hodge, D-Brighton, who earlier in the session saw
the defeat
of two of her own bills aimed at helping the South Platte
well users, said
she was "very disappointed" in the demise of SB 247.
"This was real water that would have done some real good for
our
farmers," Hodge said. "People get locked down in a position.
When they hear
South Platte, wells, the usual suspects.they say 'oh-oh, I'm
going to have
my senior rights hurt' without really looking at what the
bill did."
Hodge and Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma, were on line to try to
ram the bill
through the House in the last two days of the session.
Gardner said introducing the bill any sooner wouldn't have
made any
difference.
"The people who were opposed to this would have been opposed
in
January," Gardner said. "It just made it easier for
the opposition to work
because they could cry foul on process and thereby avoid any
substantive
discussion of the policy itself."
Gardner and Brophy were elated with the inclusion of the
Republican
River compliance pipeline into the annual CWCB "projects"
bill. The loan
will be paid back over 20 years at 2 percent interest, using
fees collected
from irrigators and other water users in the Republican
River Basin.
"The pipeline and the Republican River compact was my number
one
priority for this year," Brophy said. "It was just
absolutely critical that
we get that done and we did."
Brophy said a related bill he and Gardner carried that called
for the
drainage of Bonny Reservoir served its purpose in calling
the legislature's
attention to the evaporation losses from Bonny. Brophy
killed his own bill
after the pipeline loan appeared assured.
Rep. Jerry Sonnenberg, R-Sterling, did not sponsor any water
bills this
year. He plans to attend this summer's meetings and
events of the interim
Water Resources Review Committee even though he is not a
member.
"I go to those meetings and on the tours at my own expense
because I
care a lot about water," Sonnenberg said. "But given
the limited number of
bills I could carry and how difficult it is to run a water
bill that can
actually accomplish something, I chose not to carry a water
bill this year."
Among other water bills that did pass were measures to:
Allow water users to lease a portion of their water to the
CWCB over a
long term for in-stream flow, without fear of losing their
water rights
(HB1280);
Require developers to show they have a sustainable water
supply for
development before getting construction permits. (HB1141)
The bill was
significantly weakened to allow the use of water utility
master plans as
proof of sustainability;
Allocate $7.5 million from the endangered species trust fund
to meet
Colorado's obligation to the Platte River recovery project
(SB 168). The
agreement with Wyoming and Nebraska to protect endangered
species was
ratified by Congress late last month;
Spend $7.5 million in severance tax funds for an intense
state effort to
keep the zebra mussel from overtaking Colorado's reservoirs
like it has in
other states. (SB 226) The effort includes inspections and
decontamination
centers at many state parks. Eliminated from the final
bill were required
inspections at ports of entry.
Kansas seeks $72M from Nebraska
over river
By JOHN HANNA Associated Press Writer
Article Last Updated: 04/22/2008 04:30:30 PM MDT
TOPEKA, Kan.—Kansas demanded Tuesday that
Nebraska pay more than $72 million for taking too much
water from the Republican River, but Nebraska's attorney
general said the figure has "no basis in reality."
Kansas officials already had proposed that Nebraska
cut pumping from wells in its portion of the river basin
to comply with a 2003 U.S. Supreme Court decree
governing water use.
The dispute could go back to the nation's high court
early next year if the two states can't resolve their
disagreements.
Kansas contends Nebraska's water use exceeded what
was allowed for 2005 and 2006 by nearly 26 billion
gallons, or nearly enough to supply a city of 100,000
for 10 years. Nebraska officials acknowledge some past
overuse but contend they've taken steps to comply with
the court decree.
The latest demand came from David Barfield, the chief
engineer for Kansas' Division of Water Resources, in a
letter to Brian Dunnigan, the acting director of
Nebraska's Department of Natural Resources.
Barfield said forcing Nebraska to pay Kansas would
give Nebraska an incentive to comply with the court
decree. He noted that the states continue to monitor
water use and said Nebraska remained out of compliance
last year.
"We're after compliance," Barfield said during an
interview. "They're only going to be motivated to comply
if there's some consequence."
Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning said the method
Kansas used for calculating the payment has been
rejected in other water litigation.
He said in a statement that Nebraska is committed to
resolving the dispute but, "We're disappointed to
receive a damage claim that has no basis in reality."
The dispute is before a commission set up to
administer a 1943 compact on the river among Colorado,
Kansas and Nebraska. If it doesn't resolve the
disagreement, Kansas must seek arbitration before
turning to the Supreme Court again.
Barfield's letter said Kansas estimated that Nebraska
received economic gains of $63 million by not complying
with the compact. He added 15 percent to that figure to
cover Kansas' legal costs and create an incentive for
Nebraska to comply, to reach $72 million.
"Nebraska's failure to comply with the compact
continues to hurt Kansas farmers and communities,"
Kansas Attorney General Steve Six said. "We are looking
for a way to bring Nebraska into compliance and deter
them from continuing to ignore the compact in the
future."
But Bruning said Kansas has not provided information
that Nebraska has repeatedly requested, detailing the
damages Kansas has suffered.
North and south forks of the Republican flow from
northeast Colorado into Nebraska, converging just over
the border. The river then flows through southern
Nebraska into north-central Kansas and Milford Lake
northwest of Junction City. Its basin covers almost
25,000 square miles.
The 1943 compact allocated 49 percent of the river's
water to Nebraska, 40 percent to Kansas and 11 percent
to Colorado. In 1998, Kansas sued Nebraska, alleging its
neighbor to the north violated the compact by allowing
thousands of wells to tap the river and its tributaries.
The three states settled that lawsuit, and the
Supreme Court's decree approved the settlement. But
Kansas officials have continued to complain that
Nebraska is taking too much water.
In December, Kansas proposed shutting down wells in
Nebraska within 2.5 miles of the river and its
tributaries, as well as land in the basin where
irrigation started after 2000. Those wells supply about
42 percent of the 1.2 million acres in Nebraska's
portion of the river basin.
"They are working, but they are not there yet, and so
we have to keep pressing until they get there," Barfield
said.
But Bruning said Nebraska doesn't expect to use its
full share of Republican River water in 2008. He also
said some farmers in the river basin have used up to 30
percent less water than they were allocated in recent
years.
———
Associated Press Newsman Nate Jenkins in Lincoln,
Neb., contributed to this report.
On the Net:
Kansas Division of Water Resources:
http://www.ksda.gov/interstate—water—issues/
Kansas attorney general:
http://www.ksag.org
Nebraska Department of Natural Resources:
http://www.dnr.state.ne.us/
Nebraska attorney general:
http://www.ago.ne.gov/
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For More information see our
News section
The report on the RRWCD quarterly meeting on April 18, 2008
There was a lot a discussion on the pipeline and all of the issues
and details surrounding it. The RRWCD is working on getting the
easements and are currently working with all of the effected
landowners. There was
some talk of using the county right of way but only if necessary.
Details on the design of the pipeline included that it will first
utilize 8 wells that will pump 1,500 gpm that are a fair distance
apart from each other.
The other 7 wells are designated for future use when needed. The
upper 7 miles of pipe will be a low pressure pipe and the bottom 5.5
miles will be a mixture of low and high pressure. The outfall
structure will be located approximately a half mile from the state
line. They are running cost analysis on different size of pipe.
A 36 inch pipe will allow for 15,000 acre feet of capacity
maximum. A 42 inch pipe
will allow for 25,000 acre feet if capacity for an additional cost
$1,454,000.
Using the pipe line to produce Hydro power was also discussed.
It has been researched by the RRWCD engineering committee and
GEI. They concluded that
from an economic standpoint it would not be beneficial at this time
and recommended to the board not to move forward. The board agreed
with the recommendations not to pursue this idea.
The Board approved to hire a pipeline coordinator to assist the
district with all of on the ground particulars in designing and
construction of the pipe.
They spoke about the Compact Administration meeting.
See CAPA’s article
for more information
Republican River Compact Administration Meeting March 2008 .
There will be another Republican River Compact Compliance meeting in
Lincoln NE. on May 11.
Nebraska's Ann Bleed departs abruptly
from Gov. Heineman's administration effective immediately 3/24/08
click to see article
Republican
River Compact Administration Special Meeting
March 2008
The Republican River Compact Administration Meeting was held March
11th and 12th in Kansas City Missouri Colorado
was represented by Peter Ampe out of the Attorney Generals office,
State Engineer Dick Wolfe, Depute State Engineer Ken Knox and Megan
Sullivan also from DOWR.
Alexandra Davis from Division of Wildlife was in attendance.
There were many members of the Republican River Water
Conservation District (RRWCD) present including Dennis Coryell, Kim
Killin, Rick Seedorf, Bruce Latosik, Garry Kramer, Greg Terrell,
Manager Stan Murphy, Hydrologist Jim Slattery and Attorney
Dennis Montgomery.
Greg Larson a hopeful RRWCD board member candidate from Logan county
was also present.
Bethleen McCall represented the Colorado Agriculture
Preservation Association (CAPA).
Yuma County Commissioner Robin Whiley and President of
Colorado Corn Growers Association Byron Weathers were in attendance
on the second day.
The first day consisted of discussion about
Nebraska
and Kansas
disputes about the model runs.
Nebraska argued that they had made several model runs with
significant differences in the outcome compared to Kansas results.
There was also discussion about whether the non federal
reservoirs below Harlan County Reservoir are excluded from the
accounting process in the model.
Kansas asked if
Nebraska
had come to the conclusion that they were not accountable for past
noncompliance. Anne
Bleed replied that Nebraska has not come to
that conclusion and that was simply a misunderstanding.
She did say that
Nebraska
would like a better understanding of how much Kansas was thinking for damages she asked if
it was hundreds or billions.
Kansas replied that there must be some type of
compensation to discourage future non compliance and hinted that it
would either be Kansas
loss or the other states benefit whichever was greater.
Dick Wolfe interjected that Colorado would like to see the compensation
go to deal with a solution toward compliance such as a compact
compliance pipeline. Nebraska also mentioned several times that
they are focused on a 20% reduction in pumping basin wide to
get into compliance.
Kansas was not thrilled with Nebraska’s plan for purchase of surface
water and said it was not a long term solution due to the fact that
they can not be sure that the surface water will be there in the
future. Ken Knox asked Nebraska for some numbers
regarding phreatophyte removal.
Nebraska also mentioned
that they are considering installing a compact compliance pipeline
to augment their deficit.
They have requested that representatives from the RRWCD
provide guidance. There
is a tentative meeting scheduled for late March.
Day two Ken Knox presented
Colorado’s proposal on the compact
compliance pipeline. Ken
proved to be a true advocate for the people of Colorado and especially the irrigated
farmers. He spoke about
local efforts being the driving force behind the compact compliance
pipeline. Knox also said
that “Colorado recognizes its ability and
responsibility to comply with the Republican River Compact
Settlement”. He stated that the water users in the basin are baring
the full financial burden and also spoke about the careful
consideration taken on the placement of the wells and pipeline.
Stating that the sand hills have the highest recharge rate in
the basin and that Colorado wanted to ensure that the pipeline will
operate as long as possible.
He explained that the capacity to the pipeline will begin at
15,000 ac/ft and could reach a maximum of 25,000 ac/ft
He said there is a contract on 58 wells that have 66 well
permits and they will change the use from irrigation to compact
compliance, they will also do a variance request to change the
location of the wells and combine them into 15 wells.
Eight of those being the primary wells and seven will be
secondary or “back up wells”.
Colorado also pans to construct a storage
facility that in the event of a power outage will be capable of
operating at 2/3 capacity for approximately 2 hours.
Up next was President of the
RRWCD, Dennis Coryell, first he introduced members in the audience
from Colorado.
He pointed out that Colorado
is in a unique situation compared to Nebraska
due to the fact that
Colorado
could curtail all stream flow and shut off nearly every well in the
basin and still not be in compact compliance.
So he said that
Colorado
had to look at artificial means to augment the river and keep
irrigated production in the Republican River Basin of Colorado.
He stated that the RRWCD had been aggressive in the purchase
of water rights on the South Fork of the Republican and mentioned
measurement rules that will eventually help develop long term
conservation methods. He
explained the process RRWCD has undergone including the feasibility
study, financial planning and mentioned that at the Colorado State
Capitol the very same day that they are perusing a low rate loan
through the water projects bill.
He also mentioned that our CREP program is permeate unlike Nebraska’s.
President Coryell said that he wanted to speak from his heart for a
moment and stressed that water users in the basin are the ones
shouldering the financial burden.
He also stated that there are approximately 2,500 family
farms operating in the basin.
He said, “It’s not just about water districts and states but
we are hear today for the individual farmers, their families and the
communities that depend on them.
We are committed to the installation and operation of this
pipeline if you commission will allow us to do so.”
Kansas
responded saying they will be diligent on responding to
Colorado
and the settlement does allow for the installation of a compact
compliance pipeline. Nebraska said they are optimistic to work
things out. Both states
said that they were in favor of the concept of the pipeline and
there are details that need to be worked out but they will issue
final approval hopefully in June of this year.
There are two upcoming meetings scheduled both in Kansas City
one on April 11th and another on May 15th.
Governor Ritter hosts a town hall meeting in Wray
The Governor of Colorado hosted a town hall meeting in Wray at
Morgan Community College on Friday February 15th. He said
several positive things concerning the water issues the Republican
River Basin faces. He said he is in favor of the concept and
funding of a compact compliance pipeline. He also said that he
had spoken with the Governor of Kansas and asked them not to peruse
legal action yet to give us some more time to develop solutions.
CAPA was expecting to see Kansas file suit the first week in January
of this year and they still have not. He said he would like to
see the Division of Wildlife get out of the Pioneer Ditch lawsuit.
He also said that he and his office will do everything that they can
to assist residents of this basin avoid involuntary well
curtailment.
CAPA Meets with RRWCD
CAPA was invited to speak with the RRWCD board during their regular
quarterly meeting held 2/26/08. The RRWCD asked about CAPA's
position on the Lock Out Program regarding private land owners not
allowing access to DOW for any services included but not limited to
inventories, hunting, and surveys. CAPA has not taken an
official position on the Lock Out Program at this time. RRWCD
reported that they also have not taken an official position.
The RRWCD will be meeting with county commissioners in the basin to
explore the possibility of an election on some type of
additional fund raising so the burden will not be solely on water
users, possibly a bond or sales tax.
Our members asked if there is a possibility for the RRWCD to go
after grants to offset the cost of the pipeline and other projects
in the future. They said that they are limited to 10 percent
of the total operating budget for acquiring grants however there may
be an opportunity for other organizations to offset the costs by
paying invoices on behalf of the RRWCD.
President Coryell said that he was pleased we had met with
Progressive 15 and encouraged us to continue developing
relationships with various organizations that could benefit the
residents of the basin.
The need to have producers and concerned people at the Kansas
City commission meeting on March 11th and 12th to voice support for
pipeline approval was spoken about.
RRWCD offered to share their White Paper for the Compact Compliance
Funding in the Water Projects Bill. CAPA will have our
lobbyist assist with passing of the funding of the Water Projects
Bill. RRWCD expressed their appreciation for the efforts of
CAPA's members and board.
CAPA brought up
the topic of conservation issues (terracing, lined ditches, stock
ponds, etc) in the Arkansas Valley as pertains to return flow to the
river. Suggesting that it may set a precedence for other
areas. RRWCD's attorney assured us that would only deal with the
Arkansas Valley as those conservation measures are included in their
interstate compact, he has worked for the state of Colorado for a
number of years on the Arkansas Valley compact.
They also talked about their trip to Washington DC and information
learned. If the Farm Bill passes by 3-15-08 otherwise they
will extend current bill or revert to 1949. If a new bill is
not passed there will be no new Conservation Reserve Enhancement
Program (CREP) or Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP)
sign ups for voluntary well curtailment. All of the
congressmen they talked to were aware of the Republican River issue
and stressed conservation. CAPA asked if they had looked into
advocating for when a new Conservation Security Program (CSP) is
available in Colorado if they are planning on advocating that the
Republican River Basin is the watershed that receives funding in
Colorado. They said that they will do some more checking into
the program but their initial reaction was positive.
CAPA and RRWCD plan to work together on the Water Projects Bill and
some other issues that may arise in the future.
The Following Graph was prepared by RRWCD's Engineer
Jim Slattery
