Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Event Date
12-11-2008
Description
Presenter: Peter Nichols, General Counsel of the Lower Arkansas Valley “Super Ditch” Company, Trout, Raley, Montano, Witwer & Freeman PC, Colorado
33 slides
Moderator
David Getches
Citation Information
Nichols, Peter, "SLIDES: Lower Arkansas Valley Super Ditch Company, Inc.: Water Leasing Program" (2008). Evolving Regional Frameworks for Ag-to-Urban Water Transfers (December 11).
https://scholar.law.colorado.edu/evolving-regional-frameworks-for-ag-to-urban-water-transfers/2
Included in
Agriculture Law Commons, Climate Commons, Contracts Commons, Hydrology Commons, Law and Economics Commons, Marketing Commons, Natural Resource Economics Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Natural Resources Law Commons, Natural Resources Management and Policy Commons, Property Law and Real Estate Commons, State and Local Government Law Commons, Urban Studies and Planning Commons, Water Law Commons, Water Resource Management Commons
Comments
The permanent transfer of water from agricultural users to municipalities has become a common feature of water management in several western states. In many cases, these voluntary market‐based transfers provide significant benefits to both the buyers and sellers, but many third parties—including remaining irrigators, rural businesses and communities dependent upon agricultural economies—have been negatively impacted. While some impacts of these so‐called “buy and dry” transfers are largely unavoidable, many can be lessened by temporary arrangements that only shift water to cities in years when municipal supplies are inadequate, such as drought and post‐drought storage recovery, and by consolidating individual farm‐to‐city water transfers within a regional framework where cumulative impacts can be anticipated and mitigated. Additionally, regional water transfer frameworks can potentially reduce the transactions costs (e.g., legal and engineering expenses, approval time) associated with shifting water, making water transfers a more cost‐effective mechanism for cities adapting to the challenges associated with growth and climate variability.
In May 2008, the Lower Arkansas Valley “Super Ditch” Company was established to play this role in the active water market in southeastern Colorado, building upon the experiences and innovations of other regions—namely, the Palo Verde Irrigation District in Southern California, and the Fremont‐Madison Irrigation District in Idaho. This workshop will provide a review of the experience in these three regions.