21 ‎(5)‎

• Board Meeting Date: 5/21/2008
• Description: WSP Section - Animas-La Plata Project - Water Purchase and O&M Agreement
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

Colorado Water Conservation Board ~~.o~,r~~,
Department of Natural Resources _ _~ ~.~
1313 Sherman Street, Room 721 ~ ~ ~
Denver, Colorado 80203 ~ , ~~ ~~~
Phone: [phone] ~,~ ~ ` ,1t, ~,,,"~
Fax: [phone] ~ ~ ~ ~• ~~~~~, ~
www.cwcb.state.co.us ` ~ ~ '~ ~~ ~
Bill Ritter, Jr.
Governor
Harris D. Sherman
DNR Executive Director
MEMORANDUM
Jennifer L. Gimbel
CWCB Director
T0: Colorado Water Conservation Board Members Dan McAuli~e
CWCB Deputy Director
FROM: Randy Seaholm, Chief Water Supply Protection
DATE: May 10, 2008
SUBJECT: Agenda Item 21, May 20-21, 2008 Board Meeting
Water Supply Protection -Animas-La Plata Project Water Purchase
and 0&M Agreement
Animas - La Plata Project Background
The Animas-La Plata Project (ALP), located near Durango, Colorado, is a key
component of the 1988 Colorado Ute Indian Water Rights Settlement Act (Settlement) as
amended in 2000. The proj ect will help satisfy the federal reserved water right claims of the two
Colorado Ute tribes, whose water rights could date back to 1868. Absent the Settlement, the two
tribe's water rights could have claimed much of the water in southwest Colorado and totally
disrupted the States water rights system.
The ALP will pump water from the Animas River to the off channel Ridges Basin
Reservoir. From Ridges Basin, water can be returned to the Animas River or delivered west to
the La Plata River Basin. The ALP is expected to be totally completed in 2012. Ridges Basin
Dam was completed on November 9, 2007, and the reservoir will begin filling during runoff in
2009, it is expected to be full in 2011. Ridges Basin Reservoir will have a storage capacity of
approximately 120,000 acre-feet (AF) and will supply about 111,500 AF of water with an
anticipated depletion of 57,100 AF annually at full development. The ALP will provide water
for M&I purposes only to the Tribes and other water users in Colorado and New Mexico. There
are seven project beneficiaries:
• Southern Ute Tribe - 33,050 AF of water;16,525 AF annual depletion;
• Ute Mountain Ute Tribe - 33,050 AF of water;16,525 AF annual depletion;
• Animas-La Plata Water Conservancy District - 5,200 AF of water with 2,600 of annual
depletion. This water was contracted for upfront by the Colorado Water Resources and
Power Development Authority for the benefit of the District and the City of Durango;
• Colorado -10,460 AF of water with 5,230 AF of annual depletion;
• Navajo Nation (NM) - 4,680 AF of water and 2,340 AF of annual depletion;
Water Supply Protection • Watershed Protection & Flood Mitigation • Stream & Lake Protection • Water Supply Planning & Finance
Water Conservation & Drought Planning • Intrastate Water Management & Development