The W-Y Ground Water Management District about approximately 60 irrigation farmers and others gathered last week in Yuma to discuss future mechanisms for funding Colorado being in compliance with the Republican River Compact.
The W-Y Board of Directors hosted the meeting at Skyview Garage in downtown Yuma last Wednesday.
A refresher history of the compact, and the creation of the Republican River Water Conservation District more than 20 years ago and its effort to help the State of Colorado meet compact compliance was presented by board members.
“We really speak for you on your behalf, so if there is anything else we can do, let us know,” board member Reuben Richardson said.
Board member Roger Seedorf, also on the RRWCD Board of Directors, mostly led the presentation and discussion.
It was explained how ground water — provided by the massive Ogallala Aquifier that lies below several states south to north — eventually was brought into the compliance dispute between Kansas, Nebraska and Colorado. That has led to a sustained effort to retire irrigation wells within Colorado’s Republican River Basin. It involves paying well owners to retire their wells, through programs such as CREP and EQIP.
It also led to Colorado building a compact compliance pipeline at the far east end of Yuma County, and the purchase of more than 50 irrigation wells, to send water down the North Fork of the Republican River to make up for shortfalls by Colorado in delivering water to the other states.
The pipeline has been in operation since 2014.
The purpose is to maintain an irrigated-farming economy in the region while still meeting compact compliance.
It was noted that Yuma County is home to 1,800 of the 3,400 irrigation wells in Colorado’s Republic River Basin.
Well owners throughout the basin, including municipalities, have paid an assessment fee to help pay for it all. Irrigated well owners have paid a much higher fee — than even the initial higher fee — for the past decade or so to help pay for the pipeline.
A total of $60 million of the $73 million pipeline project was paid for by a low-interest loan from the Colorado Water Conservation Board, which is being repaid by the higher assessment fees.
A 2016 stipulated agreement between the three states allowed Colorado to be forgiven missing past obligations to the compact. However, Colorado has to retire 25,000 irrigated acres by 2029 in the South Fork Focus Zone, which centers in southern Yuma County and northern Kit Carson County.
More than 15,000 were retired by the first deadline.
Approximately $30 million in ARPA funds played a big role in funding the programs that paid well owners for retirement. (The other $30 million went to compliance efforts by Colorado along the Arkansas River Basin to the south.)
The ARPA funds for that effort have run out, but Seedorf said the odds are good that the RRWCD will receive a $6 million grant from the CWCB to help finish that effort.
The CWCB loan for the pipeline is set to be completely paid off at the end of 2030. Seedorf said the RRWCD will have enough funds collected in reserve by 2029 to meet that requirement.
Therefore, the assessment fee could be lowered, providing some relief to active irrigated wells owners that are footing the bill through the fee.
However, Seedorf said there has been discussion on the RRWCD Board about possibly keeping the fee to help fund other efforts.
Therein lies what seems to be a growing frustration among well owners in the central to northern part of Yuma — including the W-Y GWMD — that they will have to keep paying the higher fee with no end in sight. Most irrigated wells that have been retired were “low performing” located in the southern edge of the Republican River Basin where Ogallala groundwater was drying up.
Seedorf said there are discussions among the RRWCD Board members about changing the currently total $30-per-acre assessment fee. One option, which Seedorf said seems to have the most backing, is to change the fee to half according to per acre, and the other half assessed to the acre feet pumped each season.
Seedorf said those with good wells and pump more would see a significant increase in the assessment fee bill each year.
Plus, one project involves increasing the well field for the compact compliance pipeline, with an estimated cost of about $100 million.
W-Y Board member Tyson Brown stressed the need to be more active and voice opinions or the burden on active well users will continue to grow. There was talk about ground water management districts such as the W-Y to be more fairly-represented on the RRWCD Board. (It currently consists of representatives from each ground water management district within the Colorado Republican Basin, and each county.)
Richardson noted everyone has been willing to pay for others to retire their wells so irrigated farming can continue, but it does not seem like the financial burden doesn’t go away. He rhetorically asked who would be around to pay him to retire his wells if it ever came to that.
W-Y Manager Kyle Sprouse provided the latest results from the well testing he has done every year between irrigation seasons since 2019. He said the average drop from the recent testing showed an average drop of 2.1 feet, which is the most during that timeframe.
“It’s not been a good year,” he said.
(Editor’s Note: There was a lot more presented, discussed and stated during the meeting, but hopefully this at least covers most of the key issues.)