17c

• Board Meeting Date: 11/18/2007
• Description: CF Section – Bundled Non-Reimbursable Investments – Ag Water Conservation Canal Efficiency and Remote Sensing of ET
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

'J~
•
STATE OF COLORADO
Colorado Water Conservation Board
Department of Natural Resources
1313 Sherman Street, Room 721
Denver, Colorado 80203
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
www.cwcb.state.co.us
TO: Colorado Water Conservation Board Members
FROM: Joe Busto
Watershed Protection and Flood Mitigation Section
DATE: November 5, 2007
Bill Ritter, Jr.
Governor
Hams D. Sherman
DNR Executive Director
Dan McAuliffe
ActingCWCB Director
SUBJECT: Agenda Item 17c, November 15-16, 2007 Board Meeting
CSU Water Research Institute/Flood Section - Ag Water conservation,
Canal Efficiency and Remote Sensing of ET
Introduction
The Colorado Water Resources Reseazch Institute (CWRRI) submitted three applications for
consideration, and two were endorsed by staff. Staff attended a workshop with the Western
States Water Council in Bozeman, MT during August 2007, and learned more about work by
Regan Waskum, Director of CWRRI. A panel discussion at the conference highlighted water
resource study results from around the west, and indicated the need for further dialogue and
cooperation between states and research institutes in order to develop joint study priorities
related to water resources.
•
Discussion
There were three purpose and need statements attached to the Non-reimbursable application. The
first request was for $10,000 to develop a web based searchable database of agricultural water
conservation information. The second request was for $20,000 to develop management
strategies for Sago pondweed, a submersed aquatic plant that causes problems in irrigation canals
along the Front Range. The third request was for $20,000 to refine and use a model for
calculating evapo-transpiration from remote sensing LandSat imagery.
Amended Request
A series of water reseazch proposals were referred back to the CWCB staff for further review.
An internal group of CWCB staff members met on October 5, 2007 to discuss the various
proposals. Following discussion, it was deemed that the CWCB had a history of funding
agricultural research as it relates to water management and conservation. However, it was
decided that the evapo-transpiration proposal was a duplication ofNASA efforts and premature
based on ongoing work.
Water Supply Protection • Flood Protection • Stream & Lake Protection • Water Supply Planning & Finance
Water Conservation & Drought Planning • Intrastate Water Management & Development