Resolution Opposing Public Trust Initiatives #3 and #45

WHEREAS, the Central Colorado Water Conservancy District was formed in 1965 under the Water Conservancy District Act of 1937 to develop, promote and implement water conservation, augmentation, and management strategies to protect the water resources for the benefit of the citizens of the District and the Subdistricts. The Groundwater Management Subdistrict was formed in 1973 for the purpose of providing water augmentation, and the Well Augmentation Subdistrict was formed in 2004 for the same purpose; and

WHEREAS, the Central Colorado Water Conservancy District and its Subdistricts are helping to provide assistance to water users by operating two decreed augmentation plans and have undertaken projects in recharge, diversion and augmentation, storage, water conservation, water quality measurement, water education, water level measurements and data collection; and

WHEREAS, State of Colorado voters will have the opportunity at the November 2 statewide general election to protect the current prior-appropriation system and prevent overturning private claims to water rights; and

WHEREAS, the passage of Public Trust Initiatives #3 and #45 would eliminate property and contract rights, and would allow any resident to file a lawsuit against a current owner of water rights; and

WHEREAS, these initiatives could lead to less water for the state’s agriculture industry severely impacting local economy, could impact interstate water compacts and increase litigation severely hampering an already clogged water court system; and

WHEREAS, services and programs in Central Colorado Water Conservancy District, the Groundwater Management Subdistrict and the Well Augmentation Subdistrict will be limited or curtailed because the general public will determine how water is used and who receives it; and

WHEREAS, the initiatives state water users must return the same quantity of water that they use, which would be impossible for producers who have crops or livestock that consume part of that water; and

WHEREAS, a number of prominent individuals, newspapers and organizations including Supreme Court justice Gregory J. Hobbs, Jr., the Colorado Water Congress and the City of Greeley Water and Sewer Department voice opposition to these Public Trust Initiatives as not being in the best interests of Colorado; and

WHEREAS, provisions of state law do allow Central Colorado Water Conservancy District to put forth this resolution as a statement of opposition to the measures know as Public Trust Initiative #3 and Public Trust Initiative #45;

NOW, THEREFORE, the Board of Directors of Central Colorado Water Conservancy District, the Groundwater Management Subdistrict, and the Well Augmentation Subdistrict fully and unanimously opposes Public Trust Initiatives #3 and #45 and urges our citizens to vote against both ballot measures.

Download the official document

CCWCD is pleased to announce 3 new members to CCWCD’s board of directors.

Chad Schafer

Born and raised on the farm, Chad Schafer has assumed the role of part owner of the Schafer family farm just outside of Gilcrest. Chad is an active member of the RE-1 Finance Committee and well as the President of the Greeley Local Sugar Beet Association. He has been married to wife Dawn for 14 years, and together they are growing not only crops but also two sons, Cale age 9 and Colby age 6.

Dave Bernhardt

Dave Bernhardt serves on several water and community boards including: Greeley & Loveland Irrigation Co., Big Thompson & Platte River Ditch Co., Bee Line Ditch Co., Thompson Water Users Assoc., Milliken Business Assoc. and Milliken Planning Commission.

Alan Axton

Alan holds a BS in Economics, and in 2003 he was elected to the board of another private well augmentation group in Morgan County prior to service to CCWCD. Owning farms in Weld and Morgan Counties with groundwater, he holds experience in maintaining irrigation plans. Professionally Axton is a commercial and farm and ranch appraiser.

Currently all three hold a position on the board, and in coming months, they will gain additional duties within CCWCD’s committee system.

The Confluence Institute continues in it’s 3rd year with a new focus of study. This year we’ll concentrate on water in our urban settings.

The 4 day workshop for K-12 teachers will give you tools and resources to teach all aspects of water in a way that will complement the new state standards. The course can be applied for re-certification requirements. 2 Continuing Education Credits will be available through Adams State College. Classroom materials and the Project Wet Activity Guide will be provided.

Most important, it’s 4 days of fun! Highlights of this year’s conference include a water use tour, a canoe trip and the Graduation BBQ. The workshop, your meals, and materials will be provided at no cost to you.

SPACE IS LIMITED TO 30 TEACHERS.
RESERVATIONS ARE BEING
ACCEPTED NOW.
LOOK IN YOUR SCHOOL EMAILS, OR CONTACT KATHY PARKER AT
970-330-4540.

The workshop is sponsored by the
Central Colorado Water Conservancy District, the West Greeley Conservation
District, the Poudre Learning Center and the City of Greeley Water Conservation and Stormwater Programs.
Confluence of the Cache La Poudre and the South Platte Rivers, east of Greeley

Water costs cities anywhere from $5,200 to $16,200 per acrefoot according to a report prepared by University of Colorado’s Douglas Kenney, PhD.

Kenney, director of the Western Water policy Program at CU’s Natural Resources Law Center, examined three methods of water purchase used in the Front Range market:

• Water developed through future water projects: $16,200/AF
• Water developed through purchase of agricultural rights: $14,000/AF
• Water developed through conservation efforts: $5,200/AF

Kenney’s report unveils issues in determining the cost of future water development. For water transfers, “receipts” detailing the purchase price and change of use costs are rare, a strategy Kenny believes creates market leverage for buyers and sellers in future transactions. Additionally, Kenny reveals maintenance costs of conservation programs and water project are difficult to articulate, but remain a critical factor in cost/benefit decision making.

Kenny’s report is split into two phases, with the final report released in June, 2011.

For further information about the report and it’s objectives, please visit: the WWPP website. Click here to download a copy of the report.

Snowpack, high water tables, and strategic planing were among topics presented at CCWCD’s 2012 well user’s meeting.

Over 100 constituents of the Ground Water Management Subdistrict (GMS) and the Well Augmentation Subdistrict (WAS) attended, providing feedback and insight to augmentation efforts. Within the agenda, keynote speakers included John Stulp (Special Water Policy Advisor to the Governor), Dave Nettles (Colorado Division of Water Resources), and Ken Huson (City of Longmont).

High water table issues throughout the district spurred constituents to ask – “why?” Nettles was the first to address the issue: “High water tables are being observed in some areas (within the Districts), and to address this, legislation is being presented to update the 2006 South Platte Decision Support Tool, fund research projects, and provide the state engineer with tools to address concerns.”

Ken Huson from the City of Longmont highlighted the partnership between CCWCD and the city, expanding on it’s positive effect, and highlighted the Windy Gap Project. “We’re meeting our goals with the partnership – enhance water supplies and meet our customer demands”.

Stulp delivered the governors mission to make water issues a focus, and encouraged constituents to be alert to legislation, particularly the recent Public Trust Initiatives. (Open info about the initiatives in new window). Stulp also commented on the future water needs of Colorado citing storage, conservation, and, as a last resort, Ag Transfer, as methods to meet demand. Stulp strongly encouraged participation in the South Platte Round Tables (open site in new window) and suggested contacting table members with ideas and concerns.

The end of the meeting was delivered by CCWCD staff. Budget issues, water assets and management, and programs efforts like water quality and education were presented.

Randy Ray, Executive Director of CCWCD highlighted recent accomplishments in both WAS and GMS. During the presentation, WAS scenarios developed by the CCWCD board of directors were presented. Randy informed WAS members to expect more information about scenarios through meetings and mailings.

The well user meeting is set on a yearly basis to deliver news to the constituent base. Announcements for the next meeting will be posted to the CCWCD web site.

By Dennis O’Brien

Farmers and water managers may soon have an online tool to help them assess drought and irrigation impacts on water use and crop development, thanks to the work of two U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists.

Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists Martha Anderson and Bill Kustas have developed an evapotranspiration (ET) and drought modeling system at the ARS Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory in Beltsville, Md. The modeling system also will help forecasters monitor ET and drought conditions across the United States and overseas.

ARS is USDA’s principal intramural scientific research agency, and the research supports the USDA priorities of responding to climate change and promoting international food security.

The model, known as ALEXI (Atmosphere-Land Exchange Inverse), uses thermal infrared imagery from satellites and calculates soil and plant temperatures that can be used to create maps of ET rates of plants growing in cultivated areas, forests and natural habitats around the world.

ET consists of the water evaporated from soil and plant surfaces, and the water vapor that escapes, or transpires, through plant leaf pores (stomata) as the plants absorb carbon dioxide through photosynthesis. Generally, evaporation cools surfaces, so a cooler land surface is an indicator of higher ET rates and wetter soils.

Water stress elevates soil and leaf temperatures, which can be detected by satellites. Anderson and Kustas can use satellite temperature data to create ET maps. The maps are capable of detecting rivers, lakes, wetlands, riparian buffers, irrigated cropland and areas under water stress.

The work is funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). NOAA plans to use the system to generate ET estimates over the continental United States. The system is expected to become particularly relevant as climate change presents challenges for growers and water managers in areas such as the Texas Panhandle, the Florida Everglades and the southwestern United States.

Getting routine ET estimates for individual fields is laborious, but the researchers are streamlining the process. With help from new satellite imagery, they hope to be able to move toward routine mapping at the “field scale” level.

ALEXI has been estimating evapotranspiration (ET) rates since 2000, but the researchers continue to refine the system and plan to make the maps available online soon on the U.S. Drought Portal at www.drought.gov.

Anderson and Kustas, with colleagues, are currently mapping parts of Africa, including the Horn of Africa, where drought has caused famine in Somalia. Local ET data would be particularly helpful in places such as Africa, where networks of weather stations don’t exist.

Read more about this research in the February 2012 issue of Agricultural Research magazine.

UPDATE: CCWCD PASSES OFFICIAL RESOLUTION AGAINST

Activist Richard Hamilton and accompanying lawyer Phillip Doe seek to overturn nearly 150 years of water law.

Doe and Hamilton seek amendments to the Colorado constitution to abandon the prior appropriation doctrine, and replace it with a public trust system. Such actions, if approved by voters, will shift ownership of unappropriated water to the public, and strip water rights from farms, municipalities, and state organizations.

In Doe’s overhaul, water use will be limited to recreational and non-consumptive water activities. The proposed amendment does not permit activities that fully consume water – including various agricultural, city, and commercial water applications. Any water actives sought besides recreation will require court approval.

The changes to water law are currently not a ballot issue, but Hammilton and Doe are seeking signatures to bring the issue to vote.

For more information, and methods to act, please contact the Colorado Water Congress,

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The Colorado Doctrine – Brief Overview of Current Water Law

The Colorado Doctrine is a set of laws regarding water use and land ownership, adopted by the
people of Colorado starting in the 1860s. It defines four essential principles of Colorado water law:

1) All surface and groundwater in Colorado is a public resource for beneficial use by public agencies and
private persons;

2) A water right is a right to use a portion of the public’s water resources;

3) Water rights owners may build facilities on the lands of others to divert, extract, or move water from a
stream or aquifer to its place of use; and,

4) Water rights owners may use streams and aquifers for the transportation and storage of water.

Key Notes about the Public Trust Initiative:

Initiative #3 – The Adoption of the Public Trust Doctrine
Modifies Article XVI, Section 5 of the Colorado Constitution.

Key Provisions: THE PUBLIC CONFERS THE RIGHT TO THE USE OF ITS WATER, AND THE DIVERSION OF THE WATER TO AN APPROPRIATOR FOR A BENEFICIAL USE AS A GRANT FROM THE PEOPLE OF COLORADO TO THE APPROPRIATOR FOR THE COMMON GOOD. THIS COLORADO PUBLIC TRUST DOCTRINE PROTECTS THE PUBLIC’S INTERESTS IN THE WATER OF NATURAL STREAMS AND TO INSTRUCT THE STATE OF COLORADO TO DEFEND THE PUBLIC’S WATER OWNERSHIP RIGHTS OF USE AND PUBLIC ENJOYMENT. THIS COLORADO PUBLIC TRUST DOCTRINE PROVIDES THAT THE PUBLIC’S ESTATE IN WATER IN COLORADO HAS A LEGAL AUTHORITY SUPERIOR TO RULES AND TERMS OF CONTRACTS OR PROPERTY LAW. A USUFRUCT RIGHT IS SERVIENT TO THE PUBLIC’S DOMINANT WATER ESTATE. A USUFRUCT WATER USER IS IMPRESSED UNDER THE CONDITION THAT NO USE OF WATER HAS DOMINANCE OR PRIORITY OVER NATURAL STREAM OR PUBLIC HEALTH WELL-BEING.
THE RIGHT OF THE PUBLIC TO THE USE OF THE WATER IN A NATURAL STREAM AND TO THE LANDS OF THE BANKS OF THE STREAMS WITHIN COLORADO SHALL EXTEND TO THE NATURALLY-WETTED HIGH WATER MARK OF THE STREAM AND IS IMPRESSED WITH NAVIGATION SERVITUDE FOR COMMERCE AND PUBLIC USE AS RECOGNIZED IN THIS COLORADO PUBLIC TRUST DOCTRINE.
Status:
Submitted – 5/4/2010
Title Board Hearing – 12/21/2011

Initiative #45 – Limits on Water Diversion
Modifies Article XVI, Section 6 of the Colorado Constitution.

Key Provisions: THE RIGHT TO DIVERT ANY WATERS WITHIN THE STATE OF COLORADO TO BENEFICIAL USES SHALL NEVER BE DENIED, BUT MAY BE LIMITED, OR CURTAILED, SO AS TO PROTECT NATURAL ELEMENTS OF THE PUBLIC’S DOMINANT WATER ESTATE BY HOLDING UNLAWFUL ANY USUFRUCT USE OF WATER CAUSING IRREPARABLE HARM TO THE PUBLIC’S ESTATE. REQUIRES THE WATER USE APPROPRIATOR TO RETURN WATER UNIMPAIRED TO THE PUBLIC, AFTER USE, SO AS TO PROTECT THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT AND THE PUBLIC’S USE AND ENJOYMENT OF WATERS. THE PUBLIC CONFERS THE PRIVILEGE FOR THE USE AND DIVESION OF ITS WATER TO ANY APPROPRIATOR FOR THE COMMON GOOD. ENFORCEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF USES OF WATER SHALL BE PROTECTIVE OF THE PUBLIC’S RIGHTS AND INTERESTS, ARE MANDATED TO THE EXECUTIVE, LEGISLATIVE, AND JUDICIAL BRANCHES OF COLORADO STATE GOVERNMENT TO ACT, AS STEWARDS, TO PROTECT THE PUBLIC’S INTERESTS IN ITS WATER ESTATE.
Status:
Submitted – 11/17/2011
Review and Comment Hearing – 12/1/2011
Title Board – 12/21/2011