Well crackdown widens

"Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink."

- Samuel Taylor Coleridge



SUMMIT COUNTY - Samuel Taylor Coleridge wasn't exactly thinking about High Country water shortages when he wrote "The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner," but that memorable line from his epic may be resonating with some locals these days, as state officials start to red-tag wells being used illegally for outside irrigation.

"This issue is here to stay," said Scott Hummer, Division 5 water commissioner for the State Engineer's Office. The well "crisis," as it's been characterized by some local officials, even has the potential to affect real estate transactions as buyers and sellers become more aware of the well permit issue, he added.

State officials are looking at almost 4,000 wells, with 2,700 of those located in the Upper Blue.

At issue are state laws that limit well water for indoor, domestic use. The general idea is that if you use groundwater to irrigate a lawn or wash a car, at least a portion of that water doesn't make it back into the aquifers, which are considered tributaries to surface streams. In effect, that water is lost to a potential downstream user with senior water rights. The problem grows as more well-users get hooked up to sewer systems, resulting in an even greater net loss to groundwater flows.

To make up for the consumptive use, there are two local augmentation plans, enabling well users to buy surface water rights to replace the water they are using. Problem is, there are significant parts of the county that apparently aren't served by either of the augmentation plans, mainly in the Upper Blue, between Breckenridge and Dillon Reservoir, described as a critical reach by Hummer.

Hummer said his agency's enforcement efforts will focus on those areas where augmentation is available, to try and bring people into compliance with their permits.

"We hope people will step up without prodding, but we're ready to do the prodding if we have to," Hummer said. "We have an obligation to ensure there are no injuries to senior water rights."

The enforcement push began last summer after the State Engineer's Office identified hundreds of wells in Summit County supplying water for uses that aren't authorized under state permits. Enforcement measures could go as far as shutting of wells or revoking the state well permits.



Sustainable water use?



"Whatcha gonna do when you well runs dry?"

- Peter Tosh



While the state crackdown intensifies, a number of wells in Summit County have gone dry, even as the county and state continue to issue new building and well permits in areas without current access to augmentation water.

That's the situation in the Lakeview Meadows subdivision, near Farmer's Korner, where former county commissioner and current state House Rep. Gary Lindstrom lives.

"My well runs dry on a regular basis, but they've issued five new permits next to (my property)," Lindstrom said. "Why are we issuing well permits? You've got to be able to deliver wet water."

Since the issue of well permit enforcement started surfacing about 10 years ago, the number of wells in the county has doubled, but the amount of water is exactly the same, Lindstrom said.

Hummer said the Engineer's Office is mandated to issue well permits in platted subdivisions, with the expectation that property owners abide by the household-use-only provisions.

And while Summit County certainly has an interest in ensuring reliable water supplies, local officials also continue to issue building permits for areas where well-users might potentially violate their well permits. According to Lindstrom, the county only requires that property owners show that they can get a state well permit for a project.

"Our difficulties in augmenting some of these stream sections shows how hard we've been hit by Front Range diversions," said County Commissioner Tom Long. "Much of the issue exists on paper. I don't think it's a crisis," he added, although he acknowledged it could be perceived as a crisis by a property owner who has been using well water illegally outside and is suddenly threatened with a shutoff.

"They will shut you off if you're using water outside the parameters of your permit," he said. "People think they can stick a straw in the ground and use the water for whatever they want. I think some people just don't read their permits," Long said.

"They've been rattling their sabers ever since the drought a few years ago," said County Manager Ron Holliday. "Our concern is, if they're going to start rigidly enforcing this law, it should be statewide, not just capriciously here and there," Holliday said.

Hummer said similar enforcement efforts are under way in Grand County as well as other parts of the state, including in the South Platte drainage, where some wells have already been shut down.



Bob Berwyn can be reached at (970) 331-5996, or at bberwyn@summitdaily.com.



What's your take?

Is the state crackdown on illegal well use in Summit County a sign that water resources in Colorado are stretched thin? Let us know by clicking "comments" above and writing your opinion.