Walcher: It's Time to Change Water Law

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Merriman, Dan From: Marshall, John Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2002 9:02 AM To: Kuharich, Rod; Merriman, Dan; McAuliffe, Dan; Lundahl, Brad Cc: Walcher, Greg Subject: Walcher: It's time to change water law Thanks for all of your help with this yesterday. JM Walcher: It's time to change water law By GARYHARMON The Daily Sentinel Feb 20, 2002 Colorado law needs to be changed to reflect new ideas of how to make beneficial use of the state's water, the head of the state Department of Natural Resources said Tuesday. "I think the time has come where we need to acknowledge there are some shortcomings in Colorado's instream- flow law," said Greg Walcher, executive director of the department. A bill that would give water - rights holders greater ability to make use of those rights has passed one committee in the state Senate, but Walcher said it faces a bleak future because of opposition from the water community - officials charged with governing the uses of the state's water. Senate Bill 156, by Ken Gordon, D- Denver, would eliminate the use- it -or- lose -it provisions of Colorado water law. Current law says that water- rights holders can lose their rights if they fail to put their allotment of water to "beneficial use," such as for agricultural, domestic or industrial uses. If water- rights holders leave their water in the stream for environmental or other purposes, such as maintaining a fishery, they run the risk of losing their rights to it. Since 1973, the law has allowed the Colorado Water Conservation Board to hold instream -flow rights - the ability to keep water in the stream without risking losing it to other rights holders - but Walcher said experience has revealed some shortcomings. The water conservation board can take donated rights, but they often are so junior as to have little effect, he said. The law also limits the board's ability to seek water rights only for "the minimum amount necessary to preserve the natural environment to a reasonable degree." That requirement can tie the board's hands because some senior rights are for amounts of water greater than the minimum necessary to preserve the environment, he said. The department will propose legislation that would make it explicit that the board can hold water rights "in reasonable and appropriate amounts" to protect environmental values. That legislation, however, won't come to the fore until the next legislative session, Walcher said.