Article by John Orr
Water – February 2009 – Colorado Central Magazine
New advisory committee proposed to help regulate SLV water usage
Around the middle of December State Engineer Dick Wolfe let San Luis Valley irrigators know that he was planning to appoint an advisory committee to help draft rules that will govern groundwater use from the valley’s shallow aquifer. The rules are supposed to “protect senior water rights, prevent unreasonable underground water level declines, maintain sustainable underground water supplies and encourage the use of groundwater management subdistricts in Water Division 3.”
Wolfe issued the order establishing the committee on December 31st citing his constitutional responsibility to regulate the waters of the state. He apparently feels that the best approach to rule-making is to include as much input as possible, giving all stakeholders a voice and letting them decide how to meet the requirements under the Rio Grande Compact and Colorado water law.
Last year while commenting on the Rio Grande Water Conservation District’s proposed groundwater sub-districts, Wolfe told Valley residents that it would be best for them to come up with methods of governance to avoid a state mandated solution, such as the shut down of wells in the South Platte River Basin in the spring of 2007. His advisory committee idea is a continuation of that theme.
Wolfe is asking for one representative each from the Alamosa/La Jara, Conejos, San Luis Valley and Trinchera water conservancy districts along with one representative each from the Rio Grande Water Conservation District and the San Luis Valley Irrigation District. He is also asking for reps from several geographic areas and water user associations and one commission nominee each from Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla, Mineral, Rio Grande and Saguache counties. The feds will also be represented along with many of the larger towns in the valley. The Colorado Division of Wildlife also gets a voice. Nominations were due by January 23rd, according to Jody Grantham from the state engineer’s office.
Meanwhile, Judge O. John Kuenhold was hoping to issue his final decision in the trial dealing with the management rules for the RGWCD’s groundwater Sub-district #1 by the end of 2008. A district spokesperson told Colorado Central just prior to going to press that there was, “No news yet.”
Black Canyon minimum flows
Just before the New Year’s holiday, the state water court approved last summer’s accord over minimum flows in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.
Readers may remember the backroom dealings between Colorado and the U.S. Department of Interior a few years ago when Interior gave up the park’s 1933 priority in exchange for a 2001 water right and a minimum flow of 300 cfs through the park.
The deal was okay with the power companies, communities in the Gunnison floodplain and irrigators with junior rights in the Upper Gunnison Basin, since the Aspinall Unit could then be managed for power generation, and to meet irrigation demand and protect Delta and other towns from flooding.
But environmentalists filed a lawsuit. They argued that the low guaranteed flow would not support a healthy fishery or riparian environment, and that the deal was hatched without public input and thus violated federal requirements.
The judge in the case agreed and remanded the agreement back to the Park Service adding that the deal was, “nonsensical” and also “arbitrary, capricious and an abuse of discretion.”
Last summer’s agreement was the result of that effort, and pretty much everyone involved was satisfied with the final product — a result that is rarely achieved when Coloradans debate water.
When the agreement was inked Drew Peternell (Trout Unlimited) told Colorado Central that, “It has been a good example of what groups can do when they join together.”
The agreement keeps the 300 cfs minimum and adds shoulder flows. The river will be managed to reflect the natural cycle of higher flows in the spring that are gradually reduced over the summer months to low flows during winter. This will help with riparian health and the management of the fishery. And the flows will also be managed to minimize flooding along the river and thereby prevent property damage.
The hope is that higher flows in the spring will clear sediment and woody debris and help maintain the river channel.
Fairplay treatment plant
Fairplay wastewater operator Dave Standford showed off the town’s new treatment plant with a tour in December. The town was under pressure from the state to build new facilities to protect surface water quality.
Late in 2008 the district announced a 31 percent increase in residential and commercial rates for 2009, presumably to recover some of the $5.1 million that the plant chewed up.
Ken Salazar to lead Department of Interior
The big news at the end of December was that Conejos County native son, Ken Salazar, was President-elect Barack Obama’s choice to lead Interior.
Salazar is known as a problem solver and pragmatist and has made a name for himself arguing for “responsible” development of the country’s natural resources. Last year he led the opposition to President Bush’s rush to set royalties and lease terms for the development of oil shale.
Salazar’s family settled in the San Luis Valley along with the earliest, non-native, residents, so his Colorado roots run deep. He practiced water and environmental law prior to being named to lead the Colorado Department of Natural Resources under Governor Roy Romer, and then he went on to win statewide office as Attorney General and U.S. Senator.
During his tenure at the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, Salazar helped find funding for the South Platte River Commission in cooperation with the Greenway Foundation located in Denver. Foundation Director Joe Shoemaker told Colorado Central, “The Greenway Foundation has no better friend than Ken Salazar.” He added that he is, “pleased for the river, the foundation, Colorado and the nation, that Ken Salazar will be Secretary of Interior.”
Short Takes
* The Hayman fire was a disaster for Colorado in 2002. The Denver Water Department has spent millions of dollars to mitigate the effects on the South Platte watershed and Cheeseman Reservoir. A bright spot is the Tarryall River Restoration Project where hundreds of trees that were burned in the fire have been used to help prevent streambed erosion and create better trout habitat.
* The whitewater rafting business along the Arkansas River was down 9 percent in 2008 according to the Summit Daily News — despite having the best high water in 20 years. High gasoline prices were cited as the probable cause.
* The Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District, and other groups in the watershed, have agreed to match a $30,000 grant from the Colorado Water Resources and Power Development Authority to fund a study of retro-fitting the Taylor Dam with hydroelectric generation equipment.
* If you have a rural domestic exempt well — a well that is allowed to pump without a senior water right — you may be able to start legally catching rainwater on your property, if State Senator Jim Isgar’s bill allowing domestic exempt cisterns passes this legislative session.
* Buena Vista recently scored $200,000 from Great Outdoors Colorado for phase two of the Buena Vista River Park. The dough should cover construction of two more whitewater structures, and the modification of three other structures, along with improvements to some of the dry features of the park.
John Orr follows water issues at Coyote Gulch. He welcomes story ideas and links at jworr [AT] operamail [DOT] com.