The final Colorado Water Plan released in November 2015 is "a significant improvement" over the first draft released in December 2014, water engineer Steve Harris told Pine River Irrigation District shareholders at the Jan. 23 annual meeting.
The plan was written by the Colorado Water Conservation Board and includes Basin Implementation Plans from nine regional water roundtable groups. It's online at www.coloradowaterplan.com.
The Southwest Roundtable regional plan stressed the need for more water storage on the Front Range, Harris said. "A lot of the plan is background information about water in the state. The last draft has more of a plan," he said. That's in Chapter 10, critical action steps that pulls together action steps listed in other chapters. Fifty or 60 high priorities are listed, Harris said.
"The plan says in several places that it does nothing regarding water rights," he said. "The issue is municipal water supply on the Front Range, with population predicted to double."
"The default position is ag dry-up," with Front Range municipal water providers buying ag water rights and moving the water off the land, he continued. "It could be 200,000 acres to meet that demand. Our roundtable pushed for lawn reduction. Why take an acre of ag to provide an acre of lawn?" Harris asked. The roundtable also promotes "more storage on the East Slope instead of taking from the West Slope. There's no more available."
Around 1 million acre feet of water flowed out of state from the September 2013 floods on the northern Front Range. Harris cited State Rep. J. Paul Brown's efforts to get more Front Range storage for situations like that.
Brown, a PRID shareholder, was at the meeting. "I have a place (in the legislative queue) for a bill," Brown said. "I don't know what will be in it. The state doesn't have any more money, so if there's a cost in there, it will fail." He argued for re-charge of the Denver Aquifer instead of demanding more Western Slope water.
"They should store that water before they take a drop more from the West Slope," Brown said. "There isn't a more important natural resource in the state than water."
Harris added, "It's a statewide issue that we all have to deal with eventually." He cited the years it takes to get permits for storage projects. Denver Water has been trying for around 12 years to get the permit to enlarge its Gross Reservoir, he said.
PRID shareholders re-elected longtime board member Phil Lane for another three-year term. There were no other nominations.
Shareholders approved the board's 2016 budget report. It projects $429,191 of irrigation revenue for 2016. Actual revenue in 2014 and '15 was $24,000 to $33,000 higher than budgeted.
Shareholder assessments are projected to bring in $146,000 this year. Exchange income is the next largest category at $142,000. Exchange income comes from users in water-critical areas who drill wells or dig ponds, and is required by the Division of Water Resources.
Other income came from reimbursements to PRID for hydro plant-related expenses, plus the $15,000 annual payment from the hydro plant owner.
Total irrigation/ dam operation expenses are budgeted at $374,425, including ongoing spillway repairs and $128,000 for payroll.
"Delinquent accounts are growing," said PRID board treasurer Steve Pargin. "We have to figure out how to address those. We can put a lien on the property. Several ditch companies are working with us to shut the headgate for that owner. We don't have the teeth to do that ourselves."
PRID's recreation budget lists revenue of $95,224 for 2016, including a $51,824 reimbursement from the Bureau of Reclamation for half of PRID's recreation expenses in 2015; also $12,000 from boat permits and $22,000 from use permits for public parking or activities on Burec land.
Recreation expenses are listed at $110,170, including $78,000 for payroll. "We'll be subsidizing recreation by around $15,000 this year unless we get more revenue," Pargin said. "Most of the payroll is our superintendent. We directed him to work on this so that irrigation doesn't subsidize it and it helps pay (operation and maintenance) on the dam."
PRID users having to subsidize the recreational uses of the reservoir has been an ongoing issue the district has been trying to deal with for years.
District financial reserves were $1.98 million at the end of 2015, up from $1.86 million at the end of 2014.
Superintendent Brian Sheffield reported that the reservoir held 86,820 acre feet as of Jan. 22.
