SWSI Environment and Recreation Needs and Priorities TRT Draft

Home Browse Search

Key Program Areas Colorado's Instream Flow Program is comprised of three key program areas - New Appropriations, Water Acquisitions and Water Rights Protection. These key program areas represent the CWCB's "toolbox" for preserving or improving Colorado's water-dependent natural environment. New Appropriations New appropriations are new, junior water rights claimed by the CWCB to preserve the natural environment. New appropriations are considered by the CWCB each year and are filed annually with the Water Court for adjudication. Water Acquisitions Under this program area, the CWCB can acquire "water, water rights or interests in water" to preserve or improve the natural environment, and can acquire by a variety of contractual arrangements including purchase, bequest, donation, devise, lease, exchange, or any other contractual arrangement. Water acquisitions allow the CWCB to obtain water rights with a more senior priority date than the CWCB could obtain with a new junior instream flow appropriation. As a result, the CWCB is able to obtain more senior priorities for water to preserve or improve the natural environment. Water acquisitions are considered by the CWCB on an "as-offered" basis. The CWCB cannot acquire water rights by eminent domain, or force an individual to convey a water right to CWCB for instream flow purposes. All water acquisitions are voluntary transactions proposed by a water right owner. Water Rights Protection Once decreed, it is important to monitor stream flows to ensure the instream flow water rights obtained by CWCB are being fully met, and to protect those rights from potential injury that may result from subsequent claims for water from the same stream system. The CWCB provides Physical Protection for decreed instream flow rights by installing stream gages and monitoring stream flow on critical reaches of stream, and seeking administration by placing "calls" for rights entitled to receive water. The CWCB provides Legal Protection for instream flow or natural lake level water rights by reviewing other water right applications for potential injury to its rights. If a potential injury is identified, the CWCB files a Statement of Opposition with the Water Court, and seeks protective terms and conditions in that decree. If the CWCB is unable to reach a stipulated settlement, the CWCB may pursue litigation. Support Services Administration of the Instream Flow Program requires technical and professional support from a team of experts. CWCB staff provides engineering expertise to assist with water availability and consumptive use analyses. These experts perform complex water resource engineering to support water right applications and evaluate potential injury to instream flow and natural lake level water rights. Additionally, CWCB engineers and scientists may provide expert testimony in the event water cases are litigated. The CWCB staff also relies on various technical tools to assess instream flow needs, and to evaluate other water right applications. The Colorado Decision Support System houses a library of tools including GIS maps, hydrologic, climatologic and water use data, water right databases, and predictive models. These tools are developed and maintained by the CWCB and are essential to program development and administration. CWCB also relies on outside expertise to develop and protect instream flow water rights, with the Colorado Division of Wildlife (CDOW) as an integral partner in this effort. The statutes require the CWCB to determine that a natural environment exists in order to appropriate or acquire water for an instream flow right. Additionally, the