PUB00048

• Year: 1992
• Title: Systems Integration as a Water Supply Source for the Denver Metropolitan Area
• CWCB Section: Water Conservation & Drought Planning
• Author: Hydrosphere Resource Consultants
• Description: Overview of water supply alternatives and suggestion for process to address future water supply needs of the Denver Metro Area
• Publications - Doc Type: Historical

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DRAFT 8/24/92, Page 17

more direct and quantitative basis than is currently the case. An unambiguous set
of threshold criteria or "triggers" must be established

2. Some types of farming operations cannot tolerate complete interruption in supply
and may not be suitable for interruptible supply agreements; a "partially
interruptible" agreement may be workable.

3. Interruptible supply agreements are more easily implemented from a ditch-wide or
region-wide approach. This would facilitate dealing with administration and water
rights injury issues and may allow for markets to exist, whereby the interruptible
supply obligation could be transferred among several farmers from year to year.

4. Interruptible supply agreements involve many of the same water rights change
considerations as permanent transfer and dry-up, and water court actions will
generally be needed to address potential injuries to other water users. However the
State Engineer may be able to approve actual use of such agreements without water
court action depending on their specific nature and the frequency with which they
are invoked

5. The drying up of agricultural land even on an infrequent basis will result in some of
the same local socioeconomic impacts as permanent purchase and dry-up, although
the magnitude of such impacts would in most cases be smaller.

3. Municipal First Use of Agricultural Water Supplies

In its simplest form, municipal first use of agricultural water automatically occurs
throughout the front range because municipal return flows help to meet downstream calls from
senior agricultural water rights which allows upstream junior municipal rights to divert. A
more deliberate application of this concept also occurs in the form of an exchange right,
whereby a municipality secures the legal right to provide a specific substitute supply of water
in a given stream reach in order to partially meet downstream water rights calls in exchange
for increased upstream municipal diversions. A more specific application of this concept can
involve an agreement between a city and a farmers ditch and reservoir company whereby the
city would obtain the right to make a first use of the company's water supply in exchange for
replacing that supply, typically with treated municipal effluent augmented with other supplies.
Often first use agreement must address water quality concerns related to the suitability of water
for agricultural use as perceived by the farmers.

First use agreements can be complex and difficult to implement. In the 1970's the city
of Northglenn attempted to impose implementation of a "first-use" plan on agricultural water
users on Clear Creek using the threat of condemnation. This plan was partially implemented at
very high cost due to augmentation supply and water quality problems and protracted
litigation.

Barr Lake Proposal

The Barr Lake Plan is a proposal recently advanced by a group of major irrigation
companies to allow a first use of irrigation direct flow and storage rights by metro Denver
water providers before their historic irrigation use. The concept is not a new one; there have
been other municipal systems which developed "first use" agreements with irrigation and
storage systems near the Denver metro area. The Barr Lake Plan is noteworthy for several
reasons, however, and should therefore be considered carefully.