LAWS, COMPACTS AND AGREEMENTS

Transcription

1 Colorado Mesa University 2014 Water Course: What Citizens Need to Know about the Colorado Water Plan February 10, 2014 Grand Junction, CO LAWS, COMPACTS AND AGREEMENTS FOR MEETING FUTURE WATER NEEDS WEST SLOPE/EAST SLOPE AGREEMENTS Peter Fleming, General Counsel

2 State Water Plan: Conflict or Cooperation? State Water Plan s aim is for a unified, bottom-up statewide plan Purpose: address all water needs (e.g., municipal, industrial, recreational, environmental) Primary focus: meeting the municipal gap What is the actual gap between supply and demand?

3 Process and Goal Interbasin Compact Committee and eight Basin Roundtables Four legs of the stool to meet gap conservation and reuse agricultural transfers IPPs (projects already in process) New Supply Is a new transmountain diversion project the end-goal?

4 Conflict >80% of water >80% of people

5 Historical West Slope Perspective

6

7 East Slope Transmountain Diverters

8 Case Study on Two West/East Slope Agreements 1. Colorado River Cooperative Agreement (CRCA) Denver Water and 17 West Slope signatories Effective September Windy Gap Firming Project (WGFP) Northern Water s Municipal Subdistrict and four West Slope parties Substantively complete, but not final

9 CRCA and WGFP Average of approximately 50,000 acre feet of additional transmountain diversions No new West Slope structures Mitigate impacts and address past impacts Partnership on future flow management

10 Common Foundations Many years to negotiate Conflict inherent and drives the eventual cooperative solution Water needs must be focused Parties better off with a negotiated agreement than without one All parties benefit in ways they could not with a litigation win

11 Background on CRCA More than eight years of negotiations Implementation will take additional time Numerous meetings, several side agreements, several water court filings, and two proceedings in federal court.

12 The Basics Denver has 3 fundamental supply sources South Platte River (1800s) Moffat Tunnel Collection System (1930s) Fraser River Collection System, Williams Fork Collection System and Williams Fork Reservoir Blue River Collection System (1960s) Dillon Reservoir and the Roberts Tunnel

13 Wolford Mt Res. Colorado River Green Mountain Reservoir WILLIAMS FORK RESERVOIR Blue River Denver Board of Water Commissioners Water Collection System GROSS RESERVOIR MOFFAT TUNNEL MOFFAT COLLECTION SYSTEMS SOUTH PLATTE MOFFAT TUNNEL ROBERTS TUNNEL DILLON RESERVOIR ROBERTS TUNNEL South Platte River CHATFIELD RESERVOIR STRONTIA SPRINGS RESERVOIR WILLIAMS FORK WATERSHED TREATMENT PLANT Arkansas River CHEESMAN RESERVOIR CONTINENTAL DIVIDE STREAM OR RIVER TUNNEL, CANAL OR DITCH

14

15 Denver West Slope System Denver s Moffat/Fraser System has limited storage Denver s Blue River System is junior in priority to Green Mountain Reservoir Since it was entered in 1955, there has been litigation regarding the Blue River Decree about every decade.

16 Primary Drivers of Conflict Blue River Decree Litigation - Metropolitan Area Limitation - Reuse - Front Range Storage Denver s Proposed Moffat Improvement Project - Enlargement of Gross Reservoir - Still in permitting phase

17 West Slope Interests Streamflow protection and restoration Water for future consumptive use Resolve Blue River Decree issues Protection of recreation assets

18 West Slope Interests Preserve the Shoshone flow regime East Slope conservation and reuse Define the Denver Water service area

19 Key Provisions Denver Water fixes its service area Denver Water commits to further reuse and conservation Denver Water provides $25 million and up to 2,000 acre feet of enhancement water Denver Water allows for further consumptive use in Grand & Summit counties

20 Key Provisions (con t) Denver Water agrees to no further water development from the Colorado River basin absent West Slope consent Denver Water agrees to participate in the Shoshone Outage Protocol All parties agree to a Green Mountain Reservoir administration settlement

21 Key Provisions (con t) Denver Water and contract holders agree to West Slope abstentions WISE Project and leases provide a future West Slope revenue stream West Slope and Denver agree to a Blue River Decree Settlement Moffat System Project

22 Flow Shoshone Outage Protocol Natural Flow Actual Flow Reservoir Releases 1,250 cfs Spring Summer Fall

23 Downstream of Shoshone Dam

24 Downstream of Shoshone Power Plant Tailrace

25 West Slope Abstention Applies only to entities outside of Denver s Service Area that contract for water from Denver Permanent within Water Div. 5 above the confluence of Gunnison & Colorado Rivers Temporary in Water Divisions 4, 6, and 5 (below the Gunnison/Colorado confluence)

26 Div. 5 Permanent Abstention Abstain permanently from pursuing or participating in any project that would result in any new depletion from Water Div. 5 above the confluence with the Gunnison River (except Eagle River MOU projects).

27 What does Abstention Prohibit? Seeking formal approval of any aspect of a project in a regulatory or judicial forum is prohibited. Various planning activities such as feasibility studies are not prohibited.

28 Temporary Abstention Abstain from pursuing or participating in any project that would result in diversions from the Colorado River Basin within Water Div. Nos. 4 and 6, or downstream from the confluence of the Gunnison and Colorado Rivers in Water Div. No. 5 for a period of 25 years (which period may be modified).

29

30 Windy Gap Firming Project Windy Gap Project - uses surplus capacity in the Federal Colorado-Big Thompson Project (C-BT) Water rights are out of priority when surplus capacity exists in C-BT No capacity in C-BT when Windy Gap water rights are in priority Solution-create additional capacity in C-BT by putting C-BT water in new Front Range storage

31 Windy Gap Firming Project Firm supply for Middle Park Water Conservancy District Additional water for Grand County environmental and recreational demands Shoshone Outage Protocol

32 Questions?