Arkansas - UNC - Inquiries into Buy and Dry_May2008

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Cities are beginning to act to secure their interests in attractive amenities for the present and the future, such as the RICDs and facilities, or the HARP project in Pueblo. One of the motivations for this prof ect is to inquire with local governments in rural areas about their interests in future amenities related to water. So, bearing in mind the bigger picture and zooming in to transfers of agricultural water from the Eastern Plains, where there is very high dependence on primary income from agriculture in rural areas outside of the metropolitan and peri-urban area, there is reason to seek progress in many issues that relate to current and future interests which have not traditionally been well represented, at the same time as considering the alternatives to permanent sales and dry-up. The importance of water transfers in rural areas: Water transfers from agriculture can have significant impact on the culture and economic viability of the communities from which the water is transferred. The critical role of agriculture in the rural areas of the South Platte Basin and the Arkansas Basin is best defined by Howe, C.W. and C. Goemans, 2003, Water Transfers and their Impacts: Lessons from Three Colorado Water Markets. Journal of the American Water Resources Association 39(5): 1055-1065. The legislature's intent in SB07-122 is clearly to "advance" the alternatives, and that dovetails with the SWSI TRT finding that there maybe a need for greater participation and representation on behalf of nonmarket interests. "There may be a role for the state, through the CWCB, for example, to `level the playing field' through the use of incentives to encourage municipal and industrial providers and users to use alternatives to traditional agricultural transfers in order to foster the maximum utilization of the state's waters and to ensure that other non-market values (open space, wildlife habitat) are retained. " Some of those are being identified by the Nonconsumptive Needs Assessment, but others are outside the scope of that project. Projects and processes which do not address the range of interests are "business as usual" and maybe appropriate in many cases, but not necessarily in the alternative transfers. The range of impacts and risks from water transfers from rural agricultural areas of origin is only now being investigated beyond economic impacts, and there has been very little if any consideration of the cumulative impacts of transfers. As the demands grow larger relative to the supply, the virtue of more comprehensive approaches is clear, and that includes contact with interests which may have been under-represented so far. Under HBOS-1177, Basin Roundtables are encouraged to "actively seek the input and advice of affected local governments, water providers, and other interested stakeholders and persons" in considering the Basin needs assessment and in devising projects and methods for meeting those needs. The inquiries proposed include direct contact with county and municipal governments concerning their future as well as current water-related interests for amenity, recreational and environmental needs and preferences on behalf of quality of life and attractiveness for present and future residents and investment. The inquiries also include direct contact with agricultural water providers (ditch companies) whose interests are central in development of projects and methods. This application is for work concerning issues which to our knowledge are not being comprehensively addressed elsewhere, in the two topical workshops, and for inquiries which concern several of the possible forms of water transfer. This is complementary to, and not competitive with the current effort of the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District to develop the Super Ditch Rotational Crop Management Project. In contrast, this inquiry is not into