Water Rights: Laws, Guns, & Money

Shipping container gro pods ·       Suppliers producing more sealed grow units ·       Use <1% of water of regular farming Suggestions to solve crisis ·       Greater use of hydroponics ·       Buy and dry ·       Revive Two Forks reservoir ·       Aquifer Storage and Retrieval Support the show

Cheyenne, Casper, Gillette, Laramie – the big cities ·       East side of State ·       Not using Colorado River water Flaming Gorge reservoir draw downs        Farming, fishing and few water consumers ·       Potential U.S. Congressional action Support the show

Through alfalfa, water being sent to Saudi Arabia ·       Alfalfa farms clearly sucking potable water from cities’ supplies ·       Middle East countries prevent using water for low value crops And what are we doing? ·       Arizona allows unlimited pumping in most locations ·       How much time left before Arizona runs out of water Support the show

Heavy reliance on groundwater ·       Case study on running out of water ·       State should track water use Albuquerque’s water supply ·       Depends on Colorado River water for recharge and direct use ·       Impact of cutting back on Colorado River water Support the show

What are sources of Arizona water? ·       Groundwater ·       Native rivers ·       Central Arizona Project Legislation authorized of Central Arizona Project in 1968 ·       Completed in 1994 ·       Serves interior of Arizona Arizona’s share of river is 2.8 MAF ·       Cities get 1.5 MAF through CAP ·       Remainder for agriculture ·       Cuts in 1922 Compact will hurt all Support the show

Precipitation amounts ·       Great Basin drains toward Great Salt Lake ·       Colorado River watershed Total Use of water  ·       Agricultural use ·       Municipal use Reserved water rights ·       Indian claims ·       Other reserved rights Support the show

Indians may have right to 25% of Colorado River water ·        Water rights in the Grand Canyon ·        Other Indian water rights Water rights came with establishment of reservations ·        Better to sue or negotiate? ·        In any case, wait is so long as to maybe never come ·        Moral obligation to supply Indian water Support the show

Bureau of Reclamation steps in ·        Largest cut to Arizona ·        Not enough cuts to trim deficits in Mead and Powell California is the largest user ·        Most goes to Imperial Valley Irrigation District ·        Some of Metropolitan Water District ·        With 19 million customers, MWD will need more Support the show

1041 Regulations upheld ·        What is in State’s interest ·        Thornton in a bind Colorado Water Conservation Board ·        Updated state water plan ·        Call for public input Colorado River problems ·        Impact on 7 states and Mexico ·        Covered in future episodes   Support the show

Changes needed in Colorado water law ·        Speculation ·        Statistics support change Colorado water owned by the Public? ·        Past huge government investments ·        Should government simply give away rights? Support the show

Equal time to agricultural interest ·        Don Schwindt, farmer near Cortez, Colorado ·        Dan Keppen, Family Farm Alliance president Upcoming negotiations on guidelines for Colorado River Compact operations ·        New interim guidelines coming in 2026 ·        Ag communities want to play a major role Support the show

Components of NISP ·        Glade reservoir ·        Galeton reservoir  Operate in tandem ·        Projected yield from project ·        Physical sizes and water quality considerations Support the show

Greg Dewey, NCWCD Project Manager/Water Resources Engineer ·        Permitting for 18 years ·        History of Poudre and project Poudre designated as Wild and Scenic ·        Proposals for 3 on-stream reservoirs dropped ·        Reservoir water rights transferred to off-stream Glade Support the show

Stan Linker, manager of Central Weld County Water District ·        How rural districts were formed ·        Take Advantage of clean water in the CBT system Raw water sources and costs ·        CBT, Windy Gap ·        Prices skyrocketed in 10 years ·        Other sources of water Support the show

A land use regulation ·        Initially State oversight protections ·        State quit funding oversight Eagle and Larimer Counties use of 1041 ·        Seems to be blackmail ·        State oversight should return Support the show

Saving water ·        Anyway to incentivize farmers? ·        HB 1121 – cash for grass Colorado Sun reporter Trish Zornio ·        Asking hard questions ·        Same old calculus doesn’t work anymore  Support the show

Following up with the teaser ·        Private condemnation ·        Exchanges Water Court and marketing water ·        Ditches interfering with sale of private property rights ·        Agricultural Water Protection Water Right ·        Should be expanded Out of priority diversions ·        Augmentation plans ·        Onus on applicant Support the show

Ways to establish water rights ·        Other states mainly a permitting system ·        Colorado uses a court system Composition of water court and duties ·        Seven courts corresponding to seven water basins ·        Steps to obtain a water right or change in use of a water right Support the show

Times of drought ·        Worst in 1200 years ·        Temperature affect dryness Saving Water ·        At least three ways ·        No incentives to save Support the show

Relook at the 1923 South Platte River Compact ·        Upper and Lower Sections of South Platte River ·        Nebraska seems intent on moving forward Anti-speculation bill’s impact on water prices ·        Two views on strengthening laws ·        How to create more water supply in a water short area Talk to your legislator  Support the show

Prices of water ·        Farmers 401K plans? ·        Supply and demand at work ·        Farmers seem to want investors in the market Water rights trades under the radar ·        Transparency needed in water sales ·        Farmers can’t afford water for farming Democracy and capitalism  Support the show

Continuing with James Eklund ·        Case Laws ·        Encourage Ag in Colorado ·        Midde Ground Cities want no middle men ·        Ag producers want an open market ·        More important issues should be discussed Support the show

James Eklund – water attorney, past director of Colorado Water Conservation Board ·        Definition of anti-speculation ·        Meant to prevent hoarding of water by appropriation ·        Water cannot be shared like air Anti-speculation is on “bill paper” ·        Itch to be scratched is prohibition of outsiders profiting ·        Cities trying to monopolize water market ·        Dangerous pol...

Nebraska governor announces big plans ·        Wants to assure continued water into Nebraska ·        Build diversions inside Colorado to take water Colorado has plans for more South Platte River water ·        What happens now? ·        Lawsuits expected Support the show

Alexandra Davis – Aurora Water Department ·        Water rights as a commodity ·        Speculation drives up prices ·        Fear of out-of-state sales Ag water rights sales creates fears ·        Issues between selling farmers and local community ·        Reasons for the decline of small towns Support the show