Republican River Compact Rules FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. How long before those curtailed wells are turned back on? At this time, it is unknown how long it will take Colorado to get back into compact compliance. 2. What order does the curtailment occur in? The first water rights curtailed will be junior ground water wells, followed by surface water rights junior to the Republican River Compact, and then senior surface water rights. After reaching compact compliance, the first water rights to be turned back on will be the senior surface rights, followed by junior surface rights, and lastly the ground water wells. 3. Who is exempt from curtailment? Owners of small capacity wells that are permitted or decreed for 50 gallons per minute or less that are used for domestic, stock watering, or commercial purposes. 4. What is CREP? The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) is offered by the Republican River Water Conservation District and is a federally subsidized program with local cost sharing that is designed to conserve land and water resources. In part, landowners participating in this voluntary program agree to not irrigate their land for monetary compensation. We anticipate a second or additional 30,000 acre program to become available in the Republican River Basin in the near future. This solution may offer an alternative to the Basin, opposed to curtailment of the ground water well without any compensation, such as those that were curtailed in the South Platte River Basin because of inadequate replacement supplies to offset their stream depletions. For more information, please contact Mr. Stan Murphy of the Republican River Water Conservation District at 970-332-3552.
5. If a well gets curtailed, can they sign up for CREP? When does a producer have to be enrolled in these programs? A producer who wishes to sign up for these programs should contact the representative authorities for the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program, which are the Republican River Water Conservation District and/or the local USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) or Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) field offices for further information.
6. How can neighbors share proportionally in the curtailment? We conducted extensive studies and investigations to consider other options that would spread the impacts proportionally, such as a reduced amount of pumping or acreage for all wells within the basin. The physical and hydrological reality of the Republican River Basin in Colorado is that those wells closer to the system will impact streamflow the most and soonest. A proportional curtailment of ground water pumping in Colorado is infeasible because it would limit the proportional pumping of all wells below the minimum threshold that is considered agronomically sufficient to grow an irrigated crop in the Republican River Basin in northeastern Colorado. 7. Are well owners compensated for being curtailed? No. Curtailment of water rights throughout Colorado, including those diverting surface waters and ground water, are often curtailed to meet interstate river compact obligations or to satisfy senior water rights without compensation. This action is not unique to the Republican River Basin in Colorado and is not considered a “taking” and therefore is exempt from compensation. 8. Why didn’t you look at other options besides curtailment? We did. Unfortunately, the other options such as importing water from other river basins, proportional reduction of all well pumping, the removing vegetation along the stream corridors, etc. are not legally viable and/or are insufficient to achieve compliance with the Republican River Compact. We continue to consider and review all options available to minimize the duration and extent of ground water well curtailment. 9. Why is the curtailment zone focused in one area? These Rules do not focus upon one area. Rather, they affect all three (3) major river systems in the Republican River Basin in northeastern Colorado and impact multiple counties and municipalities. 10. What if a group of farmers build their own pipeline, how will this affect curtailment? Colorado successfully negotiated the potential to use compact compliance pipelines to offset our depletions to streamflows. However, prior to implementation the pipeline and its projected operations must be approved by the Republican River Compact Administration. The Division of Water Resources welcomes any project ideas that would help Colorado in meeting compact compliance obligations. 11. How are you measuring live flow on the Arikaree River? The point of “live flow” in the Arikaree River varies from year to year; within a given year it often daylights in some areas before receding to the aquifers in others. However,
the critical point of measurement that is used in terms of compliance is at the defined Compact gaging station located a few river miles downstream of the Colorado-Nebraska state line. 12. Why don’t you raise the fees for CREP so it is better for those wells that get shut down? The fees are determined by the Republican River Water Conservation District. Please contact the General Manager Stan Murphy with any questions or comments regarding the District’s fee structure. 13. Why don’t you cut down all the trees? The cottonwoods and other plants along the rivers do indeed consume water that would increase the amount of water recorded at the Compact streamflow measurement stations and thereby positively affect our compliance. However, the State of Colorado is not charged for the consumptive use from cottonwood trees and would not receive credit for any plant eradication. Also, the total amount of land and water consumed by plants along the riparian river corridor is a very small component in comparison with the total amount of water consumed by approximately 580,000 acres of irrigated croplands. Another problem is the significant maintenance required to keeping the vegetation minimized and its costs. The problem is they typically come back after being cut down. Further, the State cannot be responsible for private land management or maintenance once the trees are cleared. 14. Why don’t you drain Bonny? Bonny Reservoir has a decreed water right that warrants the same level of protection and responsibility as other water rights. Based upon historic evaporation and seepage, the reservoir is anticipated to drain naturally and this will assist toward reducing the total Computed Use that Colorado accrues in terms of compliance with the Republican River Compact. We anticipate the natural drainage will deter the potential for litigation by other government agencies seeking protection of their storage water right and compliance with applicable federal laws. The natural drainage will likely occur during the same timeframe that prosecution of a lawsuit would entail.