Special to the HT
RBC | The most striking takeaway from the January meeting of the Rio Blanco Water Conservation District was research shared by Director Alden Vanden Brink showing a nearly one-third drop in irrigation water use from the White River in Rio Blanco County. Data from the Natural Resources Conservation Service showed irrigation water use declined from approximately 27,000 acre-feet in 2017 to 18,000-19,000 acre-feet in 2022—a significant reduction for area ranches. Vanden Brink also reported that overall flow in the White River has dropped by roughly 20% over the past 20 years.
The district announced it received a grant from the Office of Just Transition and the Northwest Colorado Development Council to conduct a survey of irrigators to assess demand for water if additional supply were available for purchase. Around 50 irrigators and outdoor stakeholders will be interviewed, with results submitted to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. District board members will be the first to be interviewed. The purpose of the grant is to determine if there is a need for additional water.
Two board seats will open in April 2025, and the two existing board directors were encouraged to seek reelection.
The district continues to work with dam safety regulations, and the dam must be deemed safe for 130,000 acre-feet. The board also discussed an upcoming Return Flow Study, coordinated by the Planning Advisory Committee of the White River, which aims to highlight the importance of return flows in maintaining consistent and healthy river levels. More details on the study will be released soon.
A meeting with the Division 6 water engineer is scheduled for March 4 in Meeker to address a likely overappropriation of the White River.
Finally, with the state facing a nearly $1 billion budget deficit, there will likely be reduced funding for the Yampa-White-Green Roundtable and other basin roundtables, as well as for water-related projects.
