30 ‎(3)‎

• Board Meeting Date: 5/21/2008
• Description: IWMD Section - Presentation of Agricultural Water Conservation Paper
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

~_.
r
*' _d ~- ,
y . , _~ ~' s~ y ~' ..
._ ~ _ ? .. Jc, c. J ..
~~lay l 1. _'0+)8
... 1 ~ -1 Cis. ~ - --.i.ti~~_,
Colorado tUater Cunser+~ation Board
I ~ 80 Logan. Stre~ct. Suite fi00
I~n~-er. Colorado RO''03
RE: Parker ~','a::r and Sanitation District .~Iternatire A~~ricu[tural `<1~'aa:r Trasfer
~Iettiods Grant Program .Application. l_o~+•er South Platte Irrigation Rc:scarch and
Demo:tstrat~or. Praject.
Dear C~'vCB Board Liember:
"['h:: Parker Watcr and Sanitation District (P~VSD) ++as informed on 41a~; l-3 that its
application for a ;;rant under the :1lternati~•e Agricultural «'ater Transfer :1lcthods Grant
Program ~+-as recommended for denial by the Colorado `<'4'ate: Conser~~ation Board
(C~L'CB} staff. P`<~'SD helie~-es that this recommended denial is totaly ++~ithout
justification attd. in fact, the joint study by- P1'~'SD and the Colorado State L'ni+•ersity
(Colorado State, +rhich is the subject of our grant application, is ':he prototype project for
++~hich the I_e`islature appropriated the funds in Senate Bi1107-12 ~.
Senate Bilt 07-I'2 states in Section 1$ that the grant program is designed '`to
ad~•ance +•arious agricultural transfer methods as atternati~•es to pennattent agricultural
cry-up in the South Platte and :~rkansas ri~•er basins" a.^d these methods could include
"agricultural lan.l fallo«-ing, and...ra:duced consumpti~-e use through efiicienc~• or
crapping ~t•hite tnaintaining historic return flo~~-s." The I egislatt.tre recoenizc:d that this
.+~p~ of a ~tud~• is nec.ssary to pre.:nt the «ItolesaT~~ dr}•-up of agricultural :ands because
th~r~ is na compreh::nsi+•e data base on atternati~~e methods that could support ++•ater
ri~~hts transfers in \~'ater Court. This is the e~aet intent of the I.o+~er South Platte
irrigation Research and Demonstration Project. to develop a data base for alternati+e
methods that «'ould he supportable in l~'at~r Court. and the proj~:ct uses the state's pre-
eminent agricultural uni~•ersit+-. Colorado State. to conduct this resoarcla.
F::rthern~tore, the grant program outline that is meant to ~,uide re~•ie~r of applications
stales that "projects funded from this grant pro~~.r3rtt should nut simple hr. aimed at
faci'.itatint; a sinulo locall+•-dri~-en transfer but must also~ro~•ide usable anci_t.rzt~sferabl~
in.ormation nr prncesses [hat Hill increase our understanding of ho++- 'o successfully