Eight of the proposed projects are in the southwest corner of the state, within the bounds of the Southwestern Water Conservation District, and get their irrigation water from the Dolores Project.
Author Archives: Heather Sackett
Heather Sackett is the managing editor at Aspen Journalism and the editor and reporter on the Water Desk. She has also reported for The Denver Post and the Telluride Daily Planet. Heather has a master’s degree from CU’s Center for Environmental Journalism and her reporting has been recognized by the Colorado Press Association.
Posted inWater
Colorado Springs seeks to keep water rights tied to dams, reservoirs
Colorado Springs Utilities has been mired in water court since 2015, fighting for its conditional water rights, which date to 1952 and are tied to three proposed reservoirs
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Low-elevation snow stacks up this season
What more snow at lower elevations means for the timing of this spring’s runoff is also unclear, but forecasters say runoff volume should be above average.
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Water managers set criteria for conservation program participation
The Grand Valley Water Users Association (GVWUA) is rejecting the concept of paying farmers based on an amount of unused water, even as the association’s board voted to participate in the rebooted program.
Posted inThe Runoff
The Runoff | Legislation, funding applications and instream flow loans
The opening weeks of 2023 have been filled with legislative updates and new bills, state water board news, Colorado River happenings and new chapters for local issues. Let’s dive in. – Heather SackettEditor and Reporter on the Water Desk No-flush wipes bill drafted State Senators Dylan Roberts and Perry Will, who represent the Western Slope […]
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State officials draft bill on stream restoration
Although these projects benefit the environment, improve water quality and create resiliency against wildfires and climate change, keeping water on the landscape for longer could potentially have impacts to downstream water users.
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River District considers criteria for water conservation program
The policy says that Front Range water providers — which in total take about 500,000 acre-feet of Colorado River water each year across the Continental Divide to growing cities and for agriculture — must also contribute their fair share of water.
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Scientists studying water supply focus on weeks following peak snowpack
But according to the paper, in 2021, “rates of snowmelt throughout April were alarming and quickly worsened summer runoff outlooks which underscores that 1 April may no longer be a reliable benchmark for western water supply.”
Posted inThe Runoff
The Runoff | From panic to acceptance
Some water managers at CRWUA acknowledged a truth that is widely known but rarely stated so candidly: As the Colorado River crisis deepens, water to cities will not be cut off in favor of continuing to grow hay in the desert, no matter what the law of the river says.
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Upper basin moves closer to water conservation program
LAS VEGAS — Upper Colorado River basin officials seemed to inch closer to implementing a demand management program, the heart of which involves paying agricultural water users to use less, at the Colorado River Water Users Association conference this week. At the annual gathering of water managers and experts in Las Vegas — which sold […]