HomeMy WebLinkAbout20121905.tiff July 12, 2012
WELD COUNTY
COMMISSIONERSWeld County Board of Commissioners
1150 O Street—P.O. Box 758 1011 JUL 18 A ID: 23
Greeley, Colorado 80632
Attn: Sean Conway, Chairman RECEIVED
Dear Sean:
Several senior surface right owners downstream of Weld County have received the letter in
which you requested that we "consent to allowing the farmers in Weld County to pump their wells for
30 days this summer in order to survive this drought emergency." This request, which may on the
surface seem to be a simple one, is much more complex than has been portrayed and has both
immediate and long term impacts to our long standing water rights. For efficiency purposes, the
representatives of the ditch and reservoir companies and irrigation districts who have signed below
have chosen to respond as one.
First and foremost you must understand that Weld County is not the only Colorado County
currently being affected by drought conditions. Water rights 70 years senior to the Weld County wells
have been curtailed in our area. Weld County may be the largest agriculture county in the state, but
that fact does not make the crops of Weld County producers any more important or vital to the
economy than those of producers downstream. Please keep in mind that there are over 250,000 acres
of irrigated farm ground downstream of the Weld County farmers desiring to pump and this irrigated
farming is by far the largest driver of our economy and the lifeblood of our communities. We have
feedlots, dairies, plants, and factories that depend on the commodities that we grow. Unlike many of
the communities nearer the front range, the cities of Fort Morgan, Brush, Sterling, and Julesburg
depend heavily on the surrounding irrigated agriculture.
As you mentioned in your letter, there is an effect from upstream well pumping on downstream
water users and that is because wells intercept return flows to the river. Surface diversions have filled
the underground aquifer and in turn created these return flows to the river since the inception of
irrigated agriculture in the South Platte basin and downstream water rights have been developed over
the years upon these flows. A once dry river bed began to support a thriving agriculture economy,
however, when wells were introduced, predominately in the 1950's and 1960's, surface diverters began
to see diminished return flows which affected the yield of their long held water rights. In 1969 the
Colorado legislature, after significant study, brought the wells into prior appropriation system and in
2002, after over fifty years of unchecked pumping and injury to downstream water rights, the 1969
Water Rights Determination Act was enforced. This finally required full replacement of all alluvial
well pumping. It is unfortunate that it took this long to get wells into compliance and that some
farmers had become dependent on a water source with no water right, but allowing an injurious
practice of unregulated well pumping to take place for 50 plus years does not mean that the practice
should continue.
Water has always been a valuable resource in Colorado, so valuable, in fact, that the manner in
which we are allowed to use the water from our Colorado rivers was placed into our constitution. Prior
to the wise implementation of our Prior Appropriation Doctrine, there was chaos when it came to
dividing water among water users and the suggestion that the Prior Appropriation Doctrine be
`I - Q3-1 a 2012-1905
Weld County Response Letter
July 12,2012
Page 2
suspended even for 30 days would once again invite chaos. Colorado's system of water allocation is
still the best method for dividing water among water users. We know based upon our decree date and
our location,where we are in the water rights line and we realize that there are times when we are in
priority and times when we are not. It is in times of drought,such as we are currently experiencing,
when the prior appropriation system is most needed. Harold Griffith of the Fort Morgan Reservoir and
Irrigation Company explained the Colorado's prior appropriation system very well in a recent meeting,
when he said,"We know we are not all equal but we know we will all be treated fairly". And fairness
is that for which we strive.
We have received some rain recently and we hope this rain has resulted in some relief for your
farmers,it has been a welcomed blessing for us,but some farmers in our area still have to make
decisions as to which crop to irrigate and which to let go. We take no joy in the difficult plight of any
farmer,whether it is our neighbor or the farmers of Weld County,however,we cannot allow pumping
of irrigation wells anywhere on the South Platte River without sufficient replacement for both the
immediate impacts and the future impacts at the expense of other water rights holders. We have an
excellent system of water allocation in Colorado,we all must plan and live within that system.
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