Wellington eyes water resources for the future

By Gary Raham
Wellington Correspondent

Water resources will generate conflict along Colorado's Front Range in coming years, according to Fort Collins' water law expert, Dan Brown.

With such concerns in mind, Wellington's Chamber of Commerce and town officials invited Brown to provide a primer on water resources and water law in January. About 35 people attended the seminar, including local farmers, real estate agents and others interested in where water will come from to satisfy rapidly growing demands along Colorado's northern Front Range.

Brown, an attorney with Fischer, Brown, and Gunn, P.C., a firm that specializes in water law, provided an overview of major issues - such as sources of water, population growth estimates, water law precedents, various water plans underway - and briefly outlined some of Wellington's options for acquiring additional water.

Brown attributed future water conflicts to several reasons. Most of the water in the state flows west, but people have been flocking to the Eastern Slope. Northeastern Colorado is semi arid (about 14 inches of rainfall a year) and experiences severe swings in moisture from year to year. To sustain high populations in dry years and seasons, water must be stored when it's abundant. Water can aggravate tensions between farming and urban growth interests.

Population in Colorado could reach 420,300 on the Western Slope and 2,400,600 on the Eastern Slope by 2030, said Brown, citing statistics from the Statewide Water Supply Initiative, and Wellington could be an urban center by 2040. SWSI projects the South Platte Basin will need an additional 400,000 acre-feet of water for municipal and industrial use by 2030.

The South Platte, and nearby wells that draw water indirectly from its flow, constitute tributary sources of water - those derived from runoff. Nontributary sources of water include deep reservoirs (aquifers) far below the surface. Because water has always been a critical resource in Colorado, lawmakers have established water-use precedents more than a century old. The "first in time, first in right" precedent means that those with first claims on water have first priority for its use. "Use" is the key word because to have a water right a person or entity must use the water in question. Water right laws apply to all tributary water in the state.

When planning for water needs, potential users must set objectives, look at and evaluate alternatives, and develop strategies to acquire the necessary water. Factors in this process include the location of water relative to where it's needed, the reliability of the claim on that water (who has first right and how often will they use those rights) and the quality of the water. The latter factor will determine costs involved in treating water for drinking or other purposes.

Brown outlined Wellington's major potential tributary sources of water, including Boxelder Creek, Coal Creek, the Buckeye terrace alluvium and the Poudre River; listed ditch systems that have traditionally supplied agricultural water, like North Poudre Irrigation Co., Water Supply and Storage and Lake Canal Ditch and Reservoir Co.; and mentioned possible cooperative ventures with East Larimer County Water District, North Weld and the Northern Colorado Water Association. A typical way for developers to assure water for new projects in this region is to "dry up a farm," or buy the water rights from agricultural use. Agriculture, historically, has used about 86 percent of available water.

Brown also mentioned various proposed projects for either storing water or drawing it from other watersheds. The Windy Gap project, for example, located near Granby on the Western Slope, diverts water to the Eastern Slope that is currently used by a number of cities.

The Halligan-Seaman Water Management Project would enlarge Halligan Reservoir (owned by Fort Collins) and Milton Seaman Reservoir (owned by Greeley) to provide for water storage deemed necessary to provide for population growth during the next 10 to 15 years.

The Glade project proposed by the Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP), a collaboration between the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District and 13 municipalities and water districts, would result in the construction of a large reservoir north of Fort Collins and east of Seaman Reservoir.

The Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District has proposed a project that would divert some Yampa River water, which is currently flowing out of state, to northern Colorado. The district contends this supply of water would help keep further agricultural land from drying up through the purchase of water rights. (See http://www.ncwcd.org) Brown even mentioned a more radical project that would divert Flaming Gorge water along the route of Interstate 80 in Wyoming to northern Colorado.

Brown emphasized that he was not promoting any given course of action for Wellington, but merely presenting some of the water issues and some of the options Wellington might pursue in securing water for the future.

Much closer to home, Wellington Water Works, a partnership between Richard Seaworth of Wellington and oilman Brad Pomeroy, has been producing water associated with oil production in the Wellington Oil Field. When treated, this water could be used for irrigation, which would free up well water for domestic use. Because water rights are closely guarded and because it's not always an easy matter to determine tributary from nontributary water, this project will be contested in water court.

The town of Wellington is seriously negotiating for the use of this water. According to Town Administrator Larry Lorentzen, there is no firm agreement or contract at this time, but it may be on the table "in the next couple of months."