WSP08923

• File Number: 7630.225
• Description: Wild and Scenic-Elk River
• State: CO
• Date: 4/1/1979
• Author: Leonard Rice WatEng
• Title: Elk W and S Study-Hinman Park Res-Public Service Company of Colorado-Appraisal of Hinman Park Reservoir and Saddle Mountain Pump Stations Water Rights
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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of water right transactions reveals a wide range in the
price paid for water when expressed in dollars per acre-foot
of average yield at the point of diversion, i.e. before con-
veyance gains or losses are accounted for.

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Stroage rights provide the advantage of being use able through-
out the year and of regulating erratic natural runoff or
variable direct flow supplies by providing carry-over storage
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_so that excess flows-in high runoff periods are available
for use in dryperi~ds. _~or this_reason storage righ~~~g~p- n 1
erallyare valued higher than direct flow rights in terms of
dependable yield.

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Water rights may be conveyed by various means depending on
the type of right and the degree of risk each party is will-
ing to accept. Rights conveyed on the basis of the decreed
amount place the responsibility for any change in type or
time of use and transfer of point of diversion on the buyer,
the cost of which is usually reflected in the price. If the
buyer requires a fixed unit cost for the water the sale may
be negotiated on the basis of an agreed price per acre-foot
of yield to the buyer over an established period, usually
five to ten years, with the seller assuming responsibility
for all changes and transfer proceedings.

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The number of transactions ,of water rights in the Yampa River
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Basin has increased in recent years, due to the emphasis on
coal production and the related need for electric energy.
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No official records of these transactions are maintained,
however, and buyers and sellers are usually reticent to dis-
close sale prices. We are aware of a 1974 sale of water on
the Elk River near Clark involving a senior direct flow
irrigation right ,that sold for $1,277 per acre-foot of trans-
ferable consumptive use. In 1978 a storage decree on the
Yampa River was appraised at $800-$1,000 per acre-foot of
_yield. --- ---

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Leonard Rice Consutlil19 Water Englneers,lnc,