A Note to Water Users on Historic Drought & Streamflow Restoration
To: Any Direct Flow or Stored Water User
From: Colorado Water Trust
Dear Water Users,
Colorado Water Trust works statewide to restore water to Colorado’s rivers. We wanted to take a moment to recognize the historic drought we are facing this year. We operate streamflow restoration projects in many different basins, some of which use water rights permanently decreed to protect water in the river, and many of which are temporary water sharing agreements with agricultural, municipal, and industrial water users.
We understand that many of our temporary water sharing agreements may not operate to restore streamflow this year—the agricultural partners with whom we have agreements may not have enough water for their own use. Those considerations are built into our agreements and we always respect our partners’ operational needs.
It has also come to our attention that there may be people interested in using their water rights to prop up streamflow this year. Others may have insufficient supply and want to safeguard water that would otherwise be unproductively diverted. We prepared the following information for people in these situations:
Water Sharing
Colorado Water Trust can help you determine whether your water rights will help to save fish and streamflow this year if you want to leave your water in the river.
Administrative Approval
If your water rights could benefit streamflow, we can secure administrative approvals from the appropriate state agency or water conservation district.
Protection Against Abandonment
The statutes Colorado Water Trust works with for administrative approval provide clear protection against abandonment or any diminishment to the HCU of your water right.
Compensation
Colorado Water Trust provides compensation to partners in our ongoing water sharing agreements. We will do our best to secure compensation for any new agreements, but whether we can provide compensation this year will depend on demand.
Please feel free to reach out to us at RFW@ColoradoWaterTrust.org for more information, call (720) 570-2897 x2, or visit our website, ColoradoWaterTrust.org. For press inquiries, please contact Kate Ryan, Executive Director, at KRyan@ColoradoWatertrust.Org.