Colorado Division of Wildlife sues to shutdown groundwater irrigation
On June 16, the Colorado Division of Wildlife appealed a Colorado Groundwater Commission ruling. The CDOW joined the Pioneer and Laird Irrigation Districts in seeking a reduction of water use by groundwater irrigators. This adds State dollars and resources to the lawsuit. CDOW is similar to the Nebraska Game and Parks and CGC is similar to the Nebraska Deparment of Natural Resources.
The CDOW asks the Court to order the CGC to declare that all groundwater that contributes to streamflow is a is a tributary of the stream and therefore subject to surface water rules. What is not said by the CDOW is what percentage of the groundwater is considered a contributor to the streamflow but we know that the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources, which worked out the groundwater accounting procedures on the Republican River in cooperation with Kansas and Colorado, believes that 100% of all groundwater is a part of the streamflow.
The CDOW repeatedly references the Republican River Compact Settlement Agreement and obviously intends to use the accounting procedures established by the three States as its basis. The CDOW is demanding that groundwater be treated as a junior surface water rights holder and therefore subject to first in time, first in right law.
If the CDOW is successful in its arguement, then it could result in the shut down of all groundwater irrigation in the Colorado portion of the Republican River Basin.
You can read the filing made by the CDOW by clicking on this link.
Colorado Division of Wildlife action in Colorado District Court
The Nebraska Supreme Court recently heard similar arguments. Suits against the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources demanded that the NDNR shut down irrigation that affected streamflow. The Nebraska Supreme Court returned the question to the District Court with the explicit statement that even if groundwater irrigators have dried up the stream that the District Court cannot order the shutdown of the groundwater irrigation wells as a solution.