Laserfiche WebLink
Section 3 <br />Alternative Agricultural Water Transfer Methods to Traditional Purchase and Transfer <br />It is important to establish up front the key <br />difference between what some have called <br />"inefficiencies in agriculture" and reduced <br />consumptive use (CU). Water that is applied to a <br />crop has three major components: <br />1. The quantity of water that is utilized by the crop, <br />which is termed crop CU and is viewed as a <br />beneficial consumptive use of water. <br />2. The amount of water that is diverted to be <br />delivered to the crop. If this amount of water is <br />greater then the crop CU, there may be <br />opportunities to reduce the gross diversions <br />(total water diverted from the stream or pumped <br />from the ground) and resulting return flows. <br />These reduced return flows could in some cases <br />improve water availability for other uses and/or <br />improve water quality; but, in other cases could <br />cause injury to downstream water rights that rely <br />on the return flow. <br />3. Nonbeneficial CU is the quantity of water that is <br />not used by the crop and does return to surface or <br />groundwater systems where it is available for <br />other uses. Examples of nonbeneficial CU <br />include: <br />- Evaporation not associated with crop CU; <br />- Deep percolation of water diverted from the <br />source or applied to the lands via irrigation <br />methods that does not eventually return to the <br />stream system as return flows; and, <br />- Water that is consumed by other vegetation <br />including non-native plants (high water use <br />plants known as phreatophytes are of <br />particular interest). <br />The first part of this section focuses on methods that <br />reduce CU by reducing the amount or yield of crops <br />planted and irrigated. It is this reduced crop CU, not <br />the reduction in gross diversions (e.g., changes from <br />flood irrigation to sprinkler irrigation, etc.) that can <br />potentially be transferred to a new use. When <br />considering alternative methods for transferring <br />agricultural water to a new use, one must <br />understand that some amount of land is taken out of <br />production and/or the amount and type of crop is <br />reduced or changed. The goal of the alternative <br />transfer is to minimize the impact on the local <br />economy, provide other funding sources to the <br />agricultural user, and optimize both the agricultural <br />and nonagricultural benefits of the remaining lands. <br />Several types of agricultural transfers have been <br />examined as potential alternatives to the traditional <br />agricultural transfers that result in permanent dry- <br />up of an entire system's irrigated agricultural lands <br />as a means to obtain additional water supplies for <br />emerging M~eI, environmental, and recreational <br />needs. The purpose of this section is to generally <br />describe and/or define such alternatives and <br />summarize some of the perceived advantages and <br />disadvantages of each alternative. By no means is the <br />listing exhaustive nor should it be considered <br />advocacy for one or more alternatives. It is hoped <br />that the definitions will form the initial basis for <br />discussion and evaluation of alternatives to <br />traditional agricultural water transfers. Following <br />the description of the alternatives, this section <br />concludes with highlights of some financial benefits, <br />to both the farmer and end user that may accompany <br />many of the alternatives. Section 3.13 of this section <br />discusses the opportunities for improving irrigation <br />efficiencies without injuring downstream water <br />rights. <br />3.2 Background <br />Agricultural uses currently account for more than <br />85 percent of the water diverted and consumed in <br />Colorado. Additionally, agricultural users often hold <br />most of the senior water rights in most basins. <br />Water rights in Colorado are a property right and, in <br />most instances, can be legally transferred via a water <br />court action and severed from the land moving the <br />historical CU to a different location. As a result, <br />agricultural water rights inmost basins are <br />increasingly sought after by many M~eI water <br />providers and SSI water users and transferred to <br />M~eI use. In typical, traditional agricultural <br />transfers, farm land is usually "dried up" or no longer <br />irrigated and the water historically consumed during <br />irrigation of this land is used for meeting M~eI <br />needs. Generally only the portion of the water <br />FINAL DRAFT 3-3 <br />