BOARD01221

• Board Meeting Date: 3/21/2006
• Description: ISF Section - Request for Authorization to Proceed to Trial - Case No. 5-02CW403, Application of the Upper Eagle Regional Water Authority
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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STATE OF COLORADO

Colorado Water Conservation Board

Department of Natural Resources
1313 Shennan Street, Room 721
Denver, Colorado 80203
Phone, [phone]
FAX: [phone]
\Vww.cwcb.sta.te.co. us

MEMORANDUM

Bill Owens
Governor

To:

Colorado Water Conservation Board Members

Russell George
Executive Director

From: Dan Merriman and Linda Bassi
Stream and Lake Protection Section

Rod Kuharich
eWeB Director

Date: March 13, 2006

Rick Brown
Acting Deputy
Director

Re: Agenda No. 33, March 21-22,2006 Board Meeting, - Request for Authorization to Proceed
to Trial- Case No. 5--02CW403, Application of the Upper Eagle Regional Water Authority

Backl!round

This application is set for a three day trial beginning on May 9, 2006 in Glenwood Springs. In this
case, the Applicant seeks approval of a conditional water right, changes of water rights, and a plan
for augmentation and exchange on the Eagle River and its tributaries near Edwards, Colorado in
Eagle County. The Applicant proposes to change the uses of two surface water rights to include
municipal and other uses, including augmentation and exchange, and seeks to divert the water at
several alternate points of diversion. Applicant seeks the right to divert water out-of-priority and on
a year-round basis (direct flow and by exchange), and use consumptive use credits as well as the
Eagle Park Reservoir water rights to replace its out-of-priority depletions, The Applicant seeks to
augment by exchange using historic consumptive credits from the two surface water rights. The rate of
exchange is 0.40 cfs with a priority date of October 31, 2002.

The Board holds the following water rights that will be injured by the Applicant's proposed
operation of its plan for augmentation and exchange:

CWCB Case Stream/Lake
No.
5-80CW134 Eagle River

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Amount
cfs
85/35

Approp.
Date
03/17/80

Watershed

County

Eagle River

Eagle

Staff and the Attorney General's Office have proposed terms and conditions for inclusion in
Applicant's decree that would protect the Board's instream flow water rights, but the Applicant has
rejected those terms and conditions and has proposed alternate terms and conditions that do not
prevent injury to the Board's water rights. Terms and conditions still at issue include specific
language to prevent injury to the Eagle River instream flow water rights, the description of claimed
uses, terms limiting the operation of the exchange, and a term addressing measuring device

Colorado Water Conservation Board
Flood Protection. Water Supply Plaruting and Finance. Stream and Lake Protection
Water Supply Protection. Conservation and Drought Planning