Companies have been able to hang onto these conditional water rights in some cases for over 50 years without using them because Colorado water law allows a would-be water user to reserve their place in the priority system based on when they applied for the right — not when they put water to use — while they work toward developing the water.
Category: Water
Our water desk, staffed by Heather Sackett, produces the most authoritative reporting available on Roaring Fork and upper Colorado river basin water policy and politics.
Company with oil and gas interests seeking to keep rights alive for reservoir on Thompson Creek
The reason Puckett has been able to hold on to water rights that are nearly 60 years old without putting them to beneficial use lies in a quirk of Colorado water law that at least one scholar says needs to be reformed.
Climate report projects continued warming and declining streamflows for Colorado
This warming, which scientists are very confident will come to pass, will drive the other water system changes that Colorado can expect to see.
Colorado River crisis looms over state’s landscape decisions
The deepening troubles of the Colorado River, a significant source of water for most of Colorado’s 5.9 million residents, has implications for the types of grasses we grow in our yards and in street medians.
Drought task force can’t agree on conservation program recommendations
The lack of recommendations about conservation programs highlights the complicated nature of water in Colorado and the difficulty of achieving consensus among competing interests.
River District inks historic water rights deal for Western Slope
According to the purchase and sale agreement, the River District must pay $1 million by Jan. 1, but that is just the start.
Lower basin water managers say it’s time to fix their supply/demand problem
Representatives of the seven Colorado River basin states have begun negotiating new guidelines for reservoir operations to replace the current ones, which expire at the end of 2026.
Study finds that livestock growers need more compensation for water conservation
These findings could have basinwide implications for the Upper Colorado River Commission’s System Conservation Program, which in September water managers voted to continue in 2024.
Colorado lawmakers expected to consider state permit program protecting wetlands
While it is not always clear whether a wetland has a direct surface connection to a qualifying stream, experts say the decision removed federal protections from at least half of Colorado’s wetlands.
The outliers in urban residential landscaping: Why these homeowners tore out their turf
“If you make it easy to conserve water, they will do it,” he said. “If you make it really difficult, then they will come back to it when they have time. That is the reason that so many people continue with their current landscaping year after year. It takes time to make changes.”