Date: 10/29/2015
Final
Market Based Approach to Temporary Water Transfers
WATER RESOURCES REVIEW COMMITTEE
| Votes: View--> | Action Taken: |
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02:27 PM -- Market Based Approach to Temporary Water Transfers
Jay Winner, General Manager, Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District, discussed the role of the district and identified challenges to building new transmountain diversions. He also discussed the benefits of lease fallowing to help Colorado meet is future water demands and discussed a lease fallowing project that the district developed.
02:30 PM
Leah Martinsson, Special Counsel, Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District, discussed the potential benefits of alternatives to agriculture transfers (ATMs) in helping to meet the state's growing demand for water. She also identified potential obstacles to ATMs including litigation and engineering costs and potential measure to overcome these obstacles. She explained that House Bill 13-1248 authorizes the CWCB to administer a pilot program to test the efficacy of fallowing-leasing as an alternative to permanent agricultural dry-up. She also explained how the streamline process for approving ATMs would work and enable agricultural water users to assess the potential benefits of ATMs without incurring substantial engineer or legal costs.