PUB00004

• Year: 2003
• Title: Gunnison Basin Water: No Panacea for the Front Range
• CWCB Section: Administration
• Author: Land and Water Fund
• Description: Gunnison Basin Water: No Panacea for the Front Range
• Publications - Doc Type: Other

.10.

The land and Water Fund of the Rackies

CD

The Gunnison: A Basin In Balance

(1) In-stream Flows Above Asuinall

In-stream flows are the environmental and economic lifeblood of the Upper
Basin. Some are afforded protection through water rights held by the State of
Colorado and private entities. The Taylor Park Reservoir second-fill described above
provides releases for fisb and recreational uses below Taylor Dam.

In-stream flow rights held by the state of Colorado are administered by the
Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB). Under state law, amended in 2002, the
CWCB is allowed to hold instream flow rights to preserve or improve the natural
environment." According to the CWCB, as of March 2002, throughout the entire
Gunnison basin the CWCB has in-stream appropriations on 195 river segments (total-
ing 1,219 stream miles) and on 83 natural lake levels.'" In 2002, the CWCB proposed
to add over 8 more miles of in-stream protection and a new lake level for the rare Iron
Fen outside Crested Butte." The CWCB also has an in-stream right for 300 cfs run-
ning through the Black Canyon, just below the Aspinall Unit.

The Upper Basin also has a number of relatively rare private in-stream flow
rights. The largest of these (445 cfs) is held by the Cockrell Trustees on the Taylor
River below Taylor Park. Others include private rights to 225 cfs in the Taylor River
above Taylor Park (below the confluence with Illinois Creek), 90 cfs in Copper Creek,
and 46 cfs in the East River." Due to a change in state law in 1987, for the past 15
years the CWCB has had exclusive authority to acquire new in-stream flow rights for
environmental purposes on rivers and streams in Colorado.

A state law enacted in 2002 allows for improved in-stream protection. A
coalition of groups sponsored a bill that would have allowed private water rights
holders to dedicate their rights in-stream. The resulting legislation, Senate Bill 156,
struck a compromise by expanding the CWCB's authority to secure "appropriate"
rather than "minimum" flows that "preserve or improve" the natural environment,
and to acquire such rights by donation (in addition to other avenues already at the
CWCB's disposal)."

Another form of in-stream water use is a recreational in-channel diversion
(RICD). The Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District recently applied for a
RICD for whitewater boating near the City of Gunnison. The District applied for flow
rates ranging from 270 c.f.s. to 1500 c.f.s. in two-week intervals from May i-Sept. 30.
At a hearing in front of the Board of the CWCB in September 2002, Gary Lacy, design-
er of the whitewater course, testified that the quality of the recreational experience
improves as flows increase. While the Board voted to recommend the District be
decreed only 250 c.f.s. from May i-Sept. 30, the District plans to litigate the case
before the water court.

(2) Flat-water Recreation

Water from the Gunnison River also provides extensive flat-water recreation
that draws hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. Blue Mesa Reservoir, the
largest body of water in the state, hosts motorboats, anglers, and other recreationists,