Survey and analysis of issues in rural to urban water transfers in Colorado Water Divisions 1 and 2
Date
1993
Authors
Maxwell, Maureen Kay, author
Young, Robert A., committee member
Ward, Robert C., committee member
Kean, John M., committee member
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Abstract
Historically, the dominant use of water in Colorado has been irrigation. However, new demand is being driven by urban needs. The amount of unappropriated water available for cities to claim is decreasing. Good dam and reservoir sites are becoming more scarce and costly to develop. Increasingly, the purchase of rural water rights for transfer to urban use is being used to help fulfill the demand. The transfer of rural water to urban use, however, is controversial and has given rise to charges that important effects of water transfers are not given proper consideration in water allocation decision making. The questions that people are raising about the transfer of agricultural water to urban use - economic and social changes in the areas of origin, environmental effects of transfers of water, access to the decision making process - can be described as "livelihood" issues. The public debate highlights the issues that people think are important to water transfer. It does not make clear what is actually known about the relevance and details of these issues, nor is it clear whether these issues are considered by the water courts and to what extent. This study attempts to examine these livelihood issues and find out why they are important to the public and what the research reveals about them. The study also examines water court documents to determine if these issues play a role in water allocation decisions. This study explores the livelihood issues surrounding agricultural-to- municipal transfers of water, examining the economics of such transfers; the social, cultural, and political issues for water importing and exporting areas; the environmental and ecological aspects of water transfers; and the institutions that allocate water in Colorado. The results of a study of water court applications to transfer rural water to cities are reported. The study examines agricultural-to-urban water transfer cases in Colorado Water Divisions 1 and 2 for the years 1977 through 1991. It attempts to develop a picture of such transfers in the two busiest water basins in Colorado, and to identify what information is available about these transfers in the legal system used to allocate water in Colorado, what issues of transfers are addressed by that system, and to identify who participates in the system.
Description
Rights Access
Subject
Water transfer -- Colorado
Water-supply -- Colorado
Water use -- Colorado