Water Resources Review Committee (09/14/2015)

Final
STAFF SUMMARY OF MEETING

WATER RESOURCES REVIEW COMMITTEE

Date:	09/14/2015	ATTENDANCE

Time:	06:00 PM to 08:11 PM	Arndt	X
		Baumgardner	X
Place:	Island Grove Event Center, Greeley, CO	Becker J.	X
		Coram	X
This Meeting was called to order by		Hodge	X
	Senator Roberts	Jones	X
		Mitsch Bush	X
This Report was prepared by		Sonnenberg	X
	Clare Pramuk	Vigil	X
		Roberts	X
		X = Present, E = Excused, A = Absent, * = Present after roll call

Bills Addressed:		Action Taken:
Legislative Intent of Senate Bill 14-115 Concerning the State Water Plan Overview of the Second Draft of the Colorado Water Plan South Platte Basin Roundtable Basin Implementation Plan Public Testimony Concerning the Second Draft of the Colorado Water Plan - G		- - - -

06:00 PM -- Legislative Intent of Senate Bill 14-115 Concerning the State Water Plan

Senator Roberts convened the committee, welcomed the audience, and asked the committee members to introduce themselves. Sen. Roberts explained the legislative intent of Senate Bill 14-115 and asked the audience to identify who was on a roundtable and who were members of the general public interested in water issues. She said that the committee wants to get input from the public on the Colorado Water Plan (CWP). She explained that September 17 is the last day to submit comments to the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB). She explained the make up of the Water Resources Review Committee (WRRC). Also in attendance were Senator Cooke, Representative Brown, Senator Guzman, Representative Buck, Representative K.C. Becker, Representative Ginal, and Senator Marble.

06:21 PM -- Overview of the Second Draft of the Colorado Water Plan

Gaspar Perricone, Legislative Liaison, Department of Natural Resources provided a summary of the second draft of the CWP. He explained the role of the CWCB and thanked all the participants who provided comments on the CWP. He said the final draft is only a first step to managing resources. He explained why a state water plan is needed, the process for developing the CWP, and the timeline for completing the plan. He focused on the critical action items in Chapter 10 . He encouraged people to contribute comments through the website.

06:35 PM -- South Platte Basin Roundtable Basin Implementation Plan

Joe Frank, Chair, South Platte Basin Roundtable (SPBRT) presented the South Platte Basin Implementation Plan (BIP). He explained that SPBRT worked with the Metro Roundtable to develop a BIP for the whole basin. He provided a summary (Attachment A) that they are using to educate the public and said that they are creating other fact sheets. He noted that the next phase of their BIP is quantifying conservation and reuse of water and how it addresses the gap. He said that they are looking at regional partnerships.

Attachment A.pdf

Mr. Frank walked the committee through the handout and addressed challenges, issues, themes, shortages, water projects, the municipal and industrial gap, and agricultural shortages. He explained portfolio options that involve agricultural "buy and dry", conservation, identified projects and processes (IPPs) and new Colorado River Basin supplies.

Representative Coram asked about the "buy and dry" option. Mr. Frank explained that it is just an option they are considering. Representative Coram asked about capturing the water that goes to Nebraska. Mr. Frank addressed building storage.

6:51 PM

Representative Mitsch Bush noted that its the statewide economy not east and west slope water. She asked about Figure S3 in the BIP. Mr. Frank explained that they are talking about a large amount of water and they don't take it lightly.

Representative Brown noted there is support on the western slope for a storage project on the South Platte and would like to see it moved up in the priority in the BIP.

6:58 PM -- Public Testimony Concerning the Second Draft of the Colorado Water Plan - Greeley

The following people testified on the second draft of the CWP:

6:58 PM -- Joe Frank, SPBRT, identified comments that were agreed to by the majority of SPBRT members and highlighted those for the committee. The SPBRT is sending a 12 page comment letter to the CWCB. He noted that he doctrine of prior appropriation must be defended. He suggested that the CWP should explain why new storage is controversial and identify alternatives to overcome it. He said that overcoming this controversy should be a high priority and emphasized in Sections 4, 6 and 10 of the plan. Both above-ground and underground storage is needed to facilitate alternative transfers, augmentation, and to benefit the environment and recreation. He noted that conservation and reuse is an important piece of the CWP but the plan needs to keep building on conservation and reuse. He said the the CWP's conservation stretch goal is aspirational and that it should not receive greater emphasis in the plan than other methods for meeting the demand gap. He suggested that the CWP should also recognize that agricultural efficiency does not create new water and that it may impact stream flows and other water users. He wants the CWP to advocate for a more efficient water project permitting process including a more active role for the state that begins earlier in the permitting process Finally, he noted that the CWP should be balanced and provide equal emphasis to all methods for meeting the demand gap including conservation and reuse, alternative transfer mechanisms, completion of identified projects and process, and the development of Colorado's compact entitlement.

7:05 PM -- Jim Hall, Northern Water, noted that the CWP is an incredible undertaking. He supports the comment letter that will be coming from the roundtable. He suggested that the CWP should clearly support the Colorado Doctrine of Prior Appropriation. He said that the CWP needs to focus on increasing conservation and reuse and provide more focus on the need for additional storage. He stated that Chapter 10 needs to include other ground and surface water storage that may be available in the future. He wants the CWP and the legislature to appreciate the wisdom of local control and interdependence of users. He likes the recommendation for convening a task force on permitting issues and said that Northern Water would like to participate in such an endeavor. He said that the CWP should more clearly recognize the importance of return flows and that there may be a need to modify point source discharge rules and statutes. He supports the CWP goals for Colorado River Compact obligations but wants an administrative protocol to achieve required curtailment efforts if voluntary methods fail.

7:13 PM -- Burt Knight, City of Greeley, noted that Greeley started water conservation in 1907. He wants to preserve and protect the state constitution, the Colorado Doctrine, property rights, and local control. He doesn't want the CWP preempting local control or being a one-size-fits all plan. He stated that the CWP's emphasis on conservation is good but it shouldn't be the dominant force in the CWP. He recommended increasing the emphasis on storage which promotes healthy streams and the environment, and helps to control floods. He thinks that unallocated water exists that could be captured with additional storage and that the CWP should be adopted before looking at funding and legislation.

7:18 PM -- Sean Conway, Weld County Commissioner, and SPBRT member, noted that water law started here. He suggested that water storage should be increased and that flood damage could have been avoided with the Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP). He stated that conservation should be a vital component of the CWP but its not the whole solution. He said that efforts should be collaborative to meet Colorado's water challenges in the future.

7:27 PM -- Randy Ray, Central Colorado Water Conservancy District, described his water district. He stated that there are a lot of opportunities for water storage in lined gravel pits. He suggested that the Chatfield environmental pool could be a model for other water storage projects. He noted that people like the look of irrigated agriculture. He said that efficiency and reuse are confused because reuse projects take water away from downstream users.

7:37 PM -- Alan Gentz, representing himself, discussed a conservation easement issue involving the the City of Sterling. He supports increased water storage and wants water rights protected.

7:44 PM -- Bill Jerke, representing himself, announced that he is a former house member, former Weld County commissioner, former SPBRT chairman and active Farm Bureau member . He noted that Weld County is the breadbasket of Colorado and that the South Platte River provides domestic water for 4 million people. He said that it's easier to buy water from the South Platte than to build storage and that although NISP has support, it is really difficult to accomplish but it will save a lot of Weld County farmland from "buy and dry". He challenged the concept of "not one more drop" from West to East slope.

7:50 PM -- Peter Bridgeman, representing himself, expressed appreciation for the number of state representative and senators in attendance. He would like new water storage capacity and said that NISP is critical. He expressed support for the Chimney Hollow Reservoir at the Windy Gap Firming Project. He stated that we need to change our attitudes about conservation but that conservation will not solve our impending water crisis.

7:55 PM -- Delores Martindale, representing herself, told the committee that wells on her family's farm were shut down and many farmers that have had their wells shut down have gone bankrupt. She wants the prior appropriation doctrine preserved. She's concerned about agriculture dry up.

7:57 PM -- John Martindale, representing himself, explained that he doesn't like golf courses or homeowner associations that specify how green grass has to be.

7:58 PM -- Roni Sylvester, representing herself, provided a handout (Attachment B). She sent a letter to the Attorney General with a fraudulent water complaint. She's had $300,000 in cleanup and restoration from 17 inches of water in her house in 2013 due to over augmentation. She stated that water from Platte River was so high on April 17, 2014 that she asked Governor. Hickenlooper about dredging. She said the CWP should include information about the Platte River Endangered Species Recovery Plan.

Attachment B.pdf

8:08 PM -- Bruce Johnson, representing himself, said we need to manage water.

8:11 PM

The committee adjourned.