From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):
“The process worked,” said State Engineer Dick Wolfe, who filed the application for the rules. “That was our vision from the outset. Even after we filed the rules, we continued to work with the objectors, and that led to productive changes in the rules.” Settlements reached earlier this month with all of the objectors in the case avoided the need for a trial that was scheduled for November.
The rules apply only to the Arkansas River basin and are designed to prevent farm improvements such as sprinklers, drip irrigation or canal lining from increasing consumptive use, in order to comply with the Arkansas River Compact between Colorado and Kansas…
The rules become effective Jan. 1 and require anyone making an improvement to a surface irrigation system to file an application. Those who installed sprinklers or drip irrigation systems after Oct. 1, 1999, also must file.
The rules were first suggested in 2007 by Water Division 2 Engineer Steve Witte to address the possibility that farm efficiencies would increase consumptive use and deplete return flows — the water that drains off fields. That could violate a section of the Arkansas River Compact that prohibits developing “works” that increase the use of water in Colorado. Kansas sued Colorado in 1985, leading to a 24-year lawsuit in the U.S. Supreme Court…
There are three ways of complying with the rules: through direct engineering reports, under a general permit or through a compact compliance plan. The Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District is developing a compliance plan, which would charge farmers for administration and allow those who show a gain in return flows under the model to claim a credit. The compliance plan would be for farmers in the areas below Pueblo Dam.
More Ark Valley consumptive use rules coverage here.