Thursday, September 02, 2010
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The Republican River Water Conservation District is an independent entity that is entirely self-governed. The Colorado State Legislature created the District in 2004 to assure local involvement in the State’s efforts to comply with the Republican River Compact between Colorado, Kansas, and Nebraska. The fifteen members of the Board of Directors are residents of the basin appointed by the Commissioners of local counties, Boards of ground water management districts, and the Colorado Ground Water Commission.

The District promotes conservation through voluntary participation. By utilizing federal programs, the District has brought in millions of federal dollars to offer financial incentives to producers who voluntarily retire water rights to reduce consumptive use to the stream flows. These water retirements reinforce the District’s efforts to conserve the Ogallala Aquifer for future generations.

Current focus toward compact compliance is through a $71,000,000 locally funded pipeline project. The water source for the pipeline comes from existing irrigation wells with pumping limited to historic use. Projected completion of the compact compliance pipeline is in 2011.

 Official Posting Place
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Posted - Friday, July 09, 2010

 

Republican River Water Conservation District
Quarterly Board Meeting

Thursday, October 14, 2010 at 10:00 AM

Wray United Methodist Church
500 Blake Street
Wray, Colorado

Notice & Agenda to be posted in the future.

 
Pipeline Arbitration Process

Posted 8-17-2010

DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES
DIVISION OF WATER RESOURCES

Office of the State Engineer
1313 Sherman Street, Suite 818 Denver, CO 80203
Phone: 3038663581 Fax: 3038663589
www.water.state.co.us

NEWS RELEASE

August 16, 2010

Contact: Theo Stein, DNR, 720.448.5567

Decisions on Republican River Pipeline, Damages, Rest with Arbiter

DENVER, Colo. – The Republican River Compact Administration will pass another year without a final accounting of water use by each of the States. This will be the fourth year the compact accounting remains unapproved by the Administration. Information needed to complete the 2009 accounting was not received until early August leaving insufficient time for final processing. The three States did agree to minor changes in the groundwater model and in the accounting procedures at the group’s annual meeting on August 12 in Burlington. These changes will help resolve some accounting problems and will be implemented for 2009 forward. However, the State’s could not agree on the implementation of those changes to previous year’s unapproved compact accounting leaving those issues for further investigation.

Meanwhile, the states of Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas await an arbiter’s ruling on Colorado’s proposal to build a pipeline to transport groundwater from a well field near Wray to the North Fork of the Republican River near the Nebraska line. Testimony about the proposed Compact Compliance Pipeline consumed two days of a threeday non-binding arbitration hearing in Kansas City, Kan. in mid-July. The construction of a new pipeline to deliver water in satisfaction of Colorado’s compact obligations is specifically identified as a potential solution to compliance issues by the 2002. Final Settlement Stipulation that settled the previous lawsuit by Kansas against Colorado and Nebraska. However, the settlement also requires that all three states approve the details of the project, including the credit Colorado will receive for water deliveries.

Nebraska has agreed to Colorado’s proposal, but Kansas has not.

Also at issue during the July arbitration hearing was the method of accounting for credit for a year in which a State pays damages for past Compact violations. That issue was heard July 14. Colorado supported Nebraska in this portion of the arbitration.

Arbiter Martha Pagel is due to deliver her decision by Sept. 30.

 


Contact Information

410 Main Street – Suite 8
Wray, CO 80758
970-332-3552
970-332-3553 FAX
Contact Us

Office hours 8:00 am – 4:30 pm (Monday thru Friday), closed 12:00 – 12:30 for lunch

Posting Location – The official locations for posting District information is the bulletin board at the Yuma County Courthouse in Wray, and here on the Official Posting Place.

RRWCD Meeting Dates

The dates for the regular quarterly board meetings have been set by statute to be the second Thursday of January, April, July and October.  The scheduled 2010 dates and locations are:

January 14, 2010 - Burlington
April 8, 2010 - Yuma
July 8, 2010 - Holyoke
October 14, 2010 - Wray
Other Related Meetings
News
Posted - Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Water Release from Bonny Reservoir
Colorado State Engineer Dick Wolfe authorizes release of 5,000 acre-feet from Bonny Reservoir. For more information click here.

 
Posted - Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Copy of Proposed Resolution submitted to the RRCA by the State of Colorado regarding the Compact Compliance Pipeline, click here

 
Posted - Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Letters from the State of Kansas and Nebraska stating their concerns about the Compact Compliance Pipeline, click here

 

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