April 1, 2008--State high court backs Rio Grande well rules (Pueblo Chieftain)
The Colorado Supreme Court upheld the state engineer’s groundwater rules last week, denying challenges by opponents who appealed the case. The rules initially were upheld by Division 3 Water Court Judge O. John Kuenhold in November 2006 following a 26-day trial earlier that year. The rules connect the confined and unconfined aquifers in the Rio Grande basin with surface water. Kuenhold ruled all waters in the basin are over- appropriated. New wells would have to comply with the rules by providing one-to-one replacement to avoid overdraft of groundwater. The rules pertain only to the Rio Grande basin, and would not affect administration of wells in other basins. Water districts in the San Luis Valley are supporting the rules and are forming subdistricts which would buy land and take it out of production as a way of increasing availability of water to remaining users.
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