Water deal sought in Colorado

Towns asked to compromise so farmers can irrigate

LA SALLE, Colo. (AP)--State officials asked municipalities May 17 to share water with about 200 farmers who could lose 30,000 acres of crops after the state shut down their wells.

Agriculture Commissioner Don Ament, along with several elected officials made their plea to three cities--Boulder, Centennial and Sterling--an irrigation ditch company and a mining company in Leadville whose lawsuit is tying up an agreement that could help the farmers.

"We don't need 30 days in court," Ament told reporters and a group of angry farmers during a news conference.

Farmers who planted onions, corn and sugar beets before the state shut down their irrigation wells recently could lose crops worth up to more than $3 million, far surpassing the $1 million in grants set aside by the state to help farmers.

Colorado law gives farmers an annual allocation of water from streams and wells. They can use more if they can replace it through water purchased elsewhere. But farmers without a backup plan can have their supply shut down by the state.

A state engineer discovered this month that the snowpack in the South Platte River Basin had melted faster than expected, greatly reducing water supplies. Municipalities sued in mid-May, worried they wouldn't have enough water for residents, and a judge said wells without plans to replace the water had to shut down.

A deal was struck to get the farmers some water by tapping into a reservoir, but that is tied up by the lawsuit, Ament said. The three cities suing are afraid that using reservoir water to complete the deal would end up with more water being drawn out of the South Platte River.

Boulder, Centennial, and Sterling officials did not return phone calls seeking comment.

Kim Lawrence, an attorney representing the farmers, said the groups objecting to the deal could allow water to flow this week if they would talk to the judge who issued a court order shutting the wells down last week.

"This is about kicking someone when they're down. They're hoping these people go under," Lawrence said.

Tim Buchanan, an attorney for the Harmony Ditch Co., said he cannot agree to the reservoir deal because he has not seen the proposal.

"We need the objectors to step up and solve this problem," said Tom Cech, executive director of the Central Colorado Water Conservancy District. "That's the only way we're going to solve this problem and save the crops and save the farms."

Date: 5/24/06

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