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<br /> <br />rJlj~-U'l-~UUj TU~ 10:05 AM TROUT WITWER & FREEMAN <br /> <br /> <br />FAX NO, 3038324485 <br /> <br />p~ <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />instream t1o;'" for the ponion ofBoul~er Creek flowing through the city (from Orollell <br />gauging station to 75th Street), While this junior right served to prevent conditions on the <br />stream from worsening, \t did not address flows through the USFS lamis at issue and it <br />could not secure flows during dry pe$ds because calls of senior rights .. held by both <br />agricultural interests and the CitY of Boulder .. could dry up the stream during low flow <br />periods, <br /> <br />In 191111 the city completed a Rlanning process resuhing in the Raw Water Master <br />Plan which called for a goal of maimalning a S cfs minimum flow in main Boulder Creele <br />during droughtS and the winter low f1Pw seasol\, as WllU as 15 crs during nonna! or above <br />nonna! flow periods. The plan also ,e.tablished a goa! of achieving instream flows in the <br />tributaries of Boulder Creek outside Qfthe city. <br /> <br />To meet its master plan goal, 130ulder and ,the eWCB negotiated a contract, <br />signed in 1990 and amended twice since then. The contract deeds ownership of a ponion <br />of Boulder's senior water rights to lhe CWCS, Most of these rights derived from shares <br />in agricultural ditch complUlies, cjati~ from 1859, 1860 and 1862. The wateds used for <br />insneam flows on North Boulder Cr~k beginnins below the clty's Silver Lake Pipeline <br />diversion, continuing to main Boulder Creek belQw the contluence with North Boulder <br />Creek and down to 75th Street, <br /> <br />The contract also deeds use qf certain otller water rights whose ownerships the <br />city retained. The agreement provides for Bould~r to release water that is stored by the <br />city in the Silver Lake Watershed or in Barker Reservoir for iUlfillment oCthe eWeB's <br />junior 15 cfs instream flow right on 'Qulder Creek: llXld the CWCB's nllW instream tIow <br />filings on Nonh Boulder Creek: and poulder Creek. The contract provides that the <br />CWCB must use the water for In5tr~sm tlow purposes and it malces the City of Boulder <br />CWeB's agent for adminiStering tbe rigllts, Consequently. the city monitors the stream <br />and ditcbes to aSSllre that sufficient .,vater remains in the 5lream. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Instream flow use ofthetrarjsferTed Boulder water rights is not, however. <br />exclusive, The city may use the water right when it is not needed for providing the <br />minimum instream flows. Funher, lit tilne oca ,drought or emergency, the City of Boulder <br />is allowed to call the water for municipall'urposes, after first tapping aU their other <br />available sources. Neither "drought' nor "facility emergency" is defined in the eWeB <br />, ' <br />contract, but based on the availabillw of other water, a call on the water due to drought is <br />likely to occur only once every 70*lI's, It is more likely that a failure of the city's raw <br />water piping system would creale llil emergency that,eould permit a call on the transferred' <br />rights to dry up an otherwise proteqted ponion of Boulder Creek. While the ' , <br />drought/emergency provision limits!the proteqtion ofinstream resources, it provides a <br />safety-net for the city's domestic u.eu that was instrumental in getting the City of Boulder <br />to donate the rights for instIeam pr?tectlon, <br />, <br /> <br />Vlll.ll <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />