8B

• Board Meeting Date: 1/22/2008
• Description: CWCB Legislative Priorities and Recommendations - Funding for Instream Flow Acquisitions
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

STATE OF COLORADO

Colorado Water Conservation Board

Department of Natural Resources
1313 Shennan StreeL Room 721
Denver, Colorado 80203
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
',",Vi\V. C\VCb. state. co.us

Bill Ritter, k
Governor

TO:

Colorado Water Conservation Board Members

Hanis D. Shennan
DNR Executive Director

FROM:

Linda 1. Bassi, Chief
Stream and Lake Protection Section

Jennifer L. Gimbel
CWCB Director

DATE:

January 14, 2008

Dan McAuliffe
CWCB Deputy Director

SUBJECT:

Agenda Item 8.b, Janual")' 22-23, 2008 Boal.d Meeting
Stream and Lake Protection - Funding for Instream Flow Acquisitions

Staff is recommending that the Board authorize funding for water acquisitions for instream flow
("ISF") use in the amount of $1,000,000 annually. To date, the Board's water acquisitions
primarily have resulted from donations of water directly from water rights owners or from
organizations such as the Colorado Water Trust. 1 Because not all ISF protection needs can be
met through new ISF appropriations, the CWCB staffhas been focusing on reinvigorating the
water acquisition prong of the ISF Program. Among other benefits, water acquisitions can be a
valuable supplement to decreed ISF water rights or provide ISF protection on streams where a
new appropriation could not be made due to water availability issues. However, not all water
rights owners are willing to donate their water to the CWCB; most would like to realize an
economic benefit from conveying, loaning or leasing their water to the CWCB for ISF use.
CWCB staff has been working with other state agencies and conservation groups to identify
opportunities for water acquisitions and obtaining funding for such acquisitions. Because these
partners can provide some funding toward water acquisitions, combining CWCB funds with its
partners' funds would result in an increase in acquisitions of water for ISF use. The net effect
would be more protection of the natural environment of Colorado's streams coupled with
economic benefit to those water rights owners interested in and willing to provide water to the
CWCB for ISF use.

Under this proposal, the requested funds would be applied to direct and related costs of water
acquisitions, including but not limited to the costs of:

1. leases or purchases of water rights for ISF use;
2. preliminary evaluations of the feasibility of a temporary or permanent transfer of a water
right for ISF use;
3. historical consumptive use analyses of the subject water right;
4. water rights appraisals and title searches; and
5. negotiating and finalizing the agreement(s) and other documents necessary for the
transaction.

1 The Board has a small amount of funding in place for temporary leases of water rights for ISF use.

Wate.' Supply P.'otection . 'Yate.'shed Protection & Flood Mitigation' StJ'eam & Lake Protection' Watn Supply Planning & Finance
'Yate.' Conservation & Drought Planning' Int.'astate 'Yate.'l\Ianagement & Development