Colorado River district eyes ever-complex compact rules

Summit County, CO Colorado

SUMMIT COUNTY — Looming discussions on what to do if the Colorado River runs low could threaten West Slope water rights used for irrigation and recreation.

Colorado is in the early stages of considering a set of rules for allocating water in the event of a Colorado River shortage. Under a 1922 compact, upstream states — including Colorado — are obligated to send a set amount of water downstream to thirsty California and Arizona.

Under drought conditions, there may not be enough water to satisfy those downstream rights. That could mean curtailing existing uses in the state, said Eric Kuhn, director of the Colorado River Water Conservation District (CRWCD).

Essentially, if the lower basin states call for their allocated water, there won’t be enough to go around for Colorado, said County Commissioner Tom Long, who also serves on the river district board.

“It won’t be pretty,” Long said.

“If you’ve got Denver sitting down there, and there’s curtailment because of a call, the East slope diverters will all be up in arms looking for water,” he added, careful not to single out just Denver Water.

Based on those concerns, the CRWCD board recently passed a motion that cautions the state about proceeding with any new rules without first studying how much water can be safely developed.

“It is premature and distracting for the State Engineer’s Office to promulgate rules and regulations to administer water rights in the event curtailment is necessary under the 1922 and 1948 Colorado River compacts … The state’s policy priorities should be to avoid a compact curtailment and to work with water users to develop a plan to mitigate the adverse impacts of a curtailment,” the motion reads in part.

“With each new use, we’re adding a burden to existing uses,” said Kuhn. “When do we stop?”

The question takes on even more significance as proposals for new transmountain diversions, energy development, population growth, climate change, and other demands strain existing water supplies, Kuhn said.

There was no specific trigger for the CRWCD’s action. Just knowing that the issue of curtailment is out there spurred the board to be proactive in voicing its concerns, Kuhn said.

<B> State position </B>

The State Engineer’s Office, which would develop the rules, is looking for input from stakeholders. That helped spur the CRWCD board to address the issue, Kuhn also said.

“What we’re trying to do is spend our efforts to try and mitigate the impacts of a compact call ... so we are prepared to preserve and protect Colorado’s interests,” said acting State Engineer Ken Knox.

Knox said his office is actively working with other stakeholders to ensure that there is statewide buy-in for a plan to administer water in the event of a lower basin call.

One study by the Colorado Water Conservation Board aims to determine exactly what would happen to supplies during a call by identifying the hierarchy of water rights and determining just how much water is available.

“As and engineer and administrator, I like that. A logical, fact-based approach is always better than a decision based on arm waving and rhetoric,” Knox said.

Following completion of needed studies, the statewide Interbasin Compact Commission would provide the framework for followup steps, Knox said, asking residents around Colorado to stay attuned to the process.

“It’s our future,” he said.

<B> Over-used? </B>

“If we over-use and under-deliver water pursuant to the Colorado River Compact, then we’ll have to curtail uses,” Kuhn said. “How much of a risk are we willing to take?”

Long said one fear among some West Slope stakeholders is that Front Range water users with political and financial clout could trump traditional West Slope water uses like agriculture.

At the same time, he said that, if it comes to a downstream compact call, all of Colorado will be in the same boat, scrambling for water. That’s what makes the idea of coming up with a unified state plan so important, Long added.

“We don’t want there to be a run on West Slope agricultural water supplies,” Kuhn said. Adopting rules before knowing how much water is really available could spur municipalities on both sides of the Continental Divide to buy up water rights at the expense of traditional uses, he explained.

Compact administration and litigation elsewhere in the state, notably in the Rio Grande, Republican, and Arkansas River Basins, have caused substantial hardship and already resulted in the dry-up of agricultural lands.

Kuhn said the CRWCD is not opposed to the idea of developing curtailment rules, but that it should be done in the proper context, with the best available information, and after addressing some fundamental policy issues.

“It should be done in a more sequenced way,” Kuhn said, advocating for completion of a statewide water supply study as a critical first step toward coming with a logical curtailment plan.

<I> Bob Berwyn can be reached at (970) 331-5996, or at bberwyn@summitdaily.com. </i>