Weld County: The Colorado Ground Water Commission denies permit for Renaissance Group in Hay Gulch

From The Fort Morgan Times (Dan Barker):

…Yokam Land Holdings LLC, also called the Renaissance Group, started looking for investors to develop the water in Hay Gulch, a groundwater source west of Wiggins in Weld County that supplies 60 percent of MCQWD’s water, said Mark Kokes, ex-ecutive director for Quality Water. Trying to replace that supply might have cost $70 million as the district looked for new water and possibly had to build a water treatment plant, he said. Fortunately for Quality Water users, the groundwater commissioners decided unanimously that all of the groundwater in Hay Gulch was already appropriated, Kokes said. “The gulch is officially closed to further large-capacity wells to be drilled,” Kokes said…

While the decision was made a couple of months ago, there was still a period for the Renais-sance Group to file an objection, but it did not, he said. With the objection period over, the decision is final.

Quality Water might have had to build a water treatment plant to replace the water it would lose, since much of the water available is not as good as the Hay Gulch supply, Kokes said. That is one reason MCQWD is protective of its resources, he said. Another reason is that Quality Water’s supply helps keep Morgan County alive economically, Kokes said. Not only does the district supply many homes with its 3,000 taps, but it also supports a great deal of the agribusiness which employs local residents and stimulates the economy, he said.

More groundwater coverage here and here.