Brief by Central Staff
Water – April 2002 – Colorado Central Magazine
Despite all the attention that urban water providers receive, the fact is that at least 80% of the water diverted in Colorado goes to agriculture, and almost all of that is handled by more than 1,000 ditch and reservoir companies, which tend to be small local enterprises.
They also face new challenges beyond their traditional jobs of storing and delivering water, according to Karen Rademacher of rural Longmont, who is the executive director of a new organization: DARCA, the Ditch And Reservoir Company Alliance.
The plan is “to provide statewide training and education to ditch company board and staff members,” she said, as well as a forum to discuss “issues such as urban encroachment, easement protection, and misuse of facilities.”
She pointed out that “irrigation ditches that once meandered across quiet farms and meadows are now surrounded by urban development [which] brings trash, vandalism, safety concerns, and often confusion and misunderstanding as to who owns, and is responsible for, this sometimes antiquated network of irrigation ditches.”
Although it hasn’t been a big issue hereabouts, it did pop up when the new Wal-Mart west of Salida had a ditch running across the site.
There’s a newsletter and a website www.darca.org, where you can check for more information. You can also email karen@darca.org, call 970-535-4996, or write to DARCA, 13500 Weld County Road 13, Longmont CO 80504.