04SA44 Motion for Leave to File Amici Curiae Brief

• Description: Motion for leave to file amici curiae brief from Rio Grande Water Conservation district regarding the Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District's RICD Case No. 02CW038
• State: CO
• Basin: Gunnison
• Water Division: 4
• Date: 7/26/2004
• Author: Rio Grande Water Conservancy District
• Title: 04SA44 Motion for Leave to File Amici Curiae Brief
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Court Documents

may be necessary to safeguard for Colorado all waters to which the state of Colorado is equitably
entitled." § 37 -48 -101, 10 C.R.S. (2003). The Rio Grande District is authorized, among other
things, "to do and perform all acts and things necessary or advisable to secure and insure an
adequate supply of water, present and future, for irrigation, mining, manufacturing, and domestic
purposes within [the] district." § 37- 48- 105(1)(d), 10 C.R.S. (2003). It is the local sponsor of
the Closed Basin Project, a federal reclamation project authorized by Congress, which was
constructed, in part, to assist Colorado in meeting its obligations under the Rio Grande Compact.
See Closed Basin Landowners 4ss'n v. Rio Grande Water Conservation Dist., 734 P.2d 627, 629
(Colo. 1987). In accordance with its statutory powers, the Rio Grande District has sought to
safeguard the waters of the Rio Grande apportioned for beneficial use in Colorado.
The Southwestern Water Conservation District ( "Southwestern District ") was created in
1941 based on a legislative declaration that "the conservation of the water of the San Juan and
Dolores rivers and their tributaries for storage, irrigation; mining, and manufacturing purposes
and the construction of reservoirs, ditches, and works for the purpose of irrigation and
reclamation of additional lands not yet irrigated, as well as to furnish a supplemental supply of
water for lands now under irrigation, is of vital importance to the growth and development of the
entire district and the welfare of all its inhabitants ...." § 37 -47 -101, -103, 10 C.R.S. (2003).
The General Assembly further declared that "to promote the health and general welfare of the
state of Colorado, an appropriate agency for the conservation, use, and development of the water
resources of the San Juan and Dolores rivers and their principal tributaries should be established
and given such powers as may be necessary to safeguard for Colorado, all waters to which the
state of Colorado is equitably entitled." § 37 -47 -101, 10 C.R.S. (2003). The Southwestern