February 5, 2008--Water Update (Colorado Central Magazine)
Water watchers in the San Luis Valley have had a lot to keep them busy lately. The State Supreme Court heard arguments about the state engineer's confined aquifer rules and now everyone is waiting for a ruling. The rules mandate that those pumping from the confined aquifer are required to replace withdrawals with an equal amount of water. Meanwhile acequia preservation associations are objecting to the San Luis Valley's first water management sub-district plan. They met in Antonito recently and complained because groundwater irrigators are being allowed to pump while surface irrigators are curtailed. In their view the groundwater pumpers are depleting the streams and the water should be replaced one-for-one. The 2008 legislative session kicked off on January 10th. During this session State Representative Kathleen Curry plans to introduce legislation that would require a sustainable water supply for development prior to construction approval. According to Curry, "You can't separate the growth and land use issues from water demand." The final numbers are not in yet but it looks as though Colorado met its obligations under the Rio Grande River Compact this year.Colorado Chief Justice Mary Mullarkey has formed a task force charged with looking for ways to streamline the state water courts. She is asking the panel to, "Identify the issues most critical to the fairness and efficiency of the water court process." The streamlining was one of the recommendations from the Denver University Water Futures Panel held last summer.
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