FLOOD00213

• County: Statewide
• Community: State of Colorado
• Title: Water Rights Determination Systems Study CWCB
• Date: 5/6/1988
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Educational/Technical/Reference Information

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the latter part of the growing season in those district where water is in

relatively short supply. Thus, if some farmers or ranchers have excess water

and others insufficient water some districts may allow the water to be

reallocated to the farmers and ranchers who need it. Although the procedures

for bringing about these transfers are largely informal, they are not uniform

among the districts. Some districts allow individual farmers and ranchers to

arrange their own deals.

Other districts have evolved more sophisticated

practices which insure that all buyers and sellers within the district have an

equal opportunity to trade rights and the seller's do not profit from the

transaction by receiving from than water rate established by the district.

ISSUES TO BE ANALYZED DURING REMAINDER OF STUDY

Attempts to transfer water in Wyoming have met with mixed success despite

substantial expenditures on the part of transfer proponents. During the

remainder of the study we will examine in detail about a dozen individual water

transfers in Wyoming. One of these cases is not a traditional type of transfer,

but rather involves a long term lease of salvaged water from the Casper-Alcova

Irrigation District to the City of Casper. In addition we will continue to

collect data on the need, desirability and process for water transfers that are

taking place within seven special purpose districts. Finally, we will consider

the effect of the Wyoming Supreme Court's decision in the Big Horn Adjudication

on the prospects for transfer and sale of Indian water rights in Wyoming. All

of this data will be gathered with an eye towards assessing the adequacy of

current law and procedures for transferring water in Wyoming.

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