The Colorado River District Board of Directors regularly develops and evaluates policies which guide River District staff decisions and priorities. These policies address issues which concern or directly impact West Slope water users. Each policy undergoes a tri-annual evaluation during with Directors may update and hone policy language.
July 21, 2020
The Colorado River District supports federal and state appropriations and programs that support and encourage investment in capital maintenance, including extraordinary maintenance, to address and maintain – and upgrade where possible – the full function and benefit of Colorado’s aging water infrastructure.
Policy as PDF
April 17, 2018
The Colorado River District supports and promotes Western Colorado agriculture and will partner with agricultural interests to ensure a vibrant agriculture sector in Western Colorado.
Policy as PDF
July 21, 2020
The Colorado River District supports and will remain involved in statewide efforts to better determine Colorado`s current use and remaining development potential of its Colorado River compact entitlement.
Policy as PDF
July 21, 2020
The Colorado River Compacts of 1922 and 1948 must be enforced, protected and defended from legal challenge or amendment unless all seven basin states agree to the terms of any proposed change.
Policy as PDF
January 16, 2018
The Colorado River District supports the development of authorized and participating projects under the Colorado River Storage Project Act wherever economically, hydrologically, and environmentally feasible.
Policy as PDF
Amended and Readopted 10/20/2022
The Colorado River Water Conservation District supports the Colorado Water Plan.
The District believes that continued funding and refinement of the plan are necessary for the Plan to remain relevant and to contribute to the protection, development, and stewardship of Colorado’s water resources.
Policy as PDF
July 20, 2022
The Colorado River District supports collaborative efforts to recover threatened and endangered species to the point where they no longer are in need of Endangered Species Act protections.
Policy as PDF
April 17, 2018
The policy of the Colorado River District is that when the Congress or the President creates special federal land designations, such designations must clearly and explicitly specify and quantify the minimum amount, if any, of water necessary to fulfill the purpose of the land reservation.
Policy as PDF
July 21, 2020
The Colorado River District believes all state water-related projects and programs should be evaluated, prioritized and funded on a common and consistent basis (i.e., eliminate the current, uncertain and erratic Tier II funding category).
Policy as PDF
July 21, 2020
The Colorado River District opposes any proposal to market Colorado River water between the states of the Upper Colorado River Basin and Lower Colorado River Basin without the unanimous consent of all seven states.
Policy as PDF
Revised and Readopted July 20, 2022
The Colorado River District values and supports the environmental, human and economic benefits of flowing rivers and streams. The District recognizes the potential tension between instream uses and out-of-stream diversions for consumptive uses and the need to ensure balance between the two in an arid West.
Policy as PDF
July 17, 2018
The Colorado River District supports Colorado’s system of prior appropriation as a fair and orderly system for allocating Colorado’s scarce water resources.
Policy as PDF
July 1, 2014
The public records of the River District are available for review at the River District’s office during normal business hours. Any individual or organization wishing to review River District records should provide written notice three days in advance. The River District may deny access to certain public records consistent with C.R.S. §24-72-204 and other applicable law.
Policy as PDF
Revised and Readopted July 20, 2022
The Colorado River District supports recreational water uses - and the water rights confirming those recreational water uses - that balance recreational needs with historical and future consumptive water uses, including water uses by exchange. A recreational in-channel water right (RICD) should not be granted if it would materially impair the ability to fully develop for beneficial use Colorado’s entitlements under the Compacts of 1922 and 1948.
Policy as PDF
Adopted: 07.21.21
The River District opposes speculation in Colorado’s water resources where the purported speculator does not have a specific plan to put water to use for legitimate beneficial purposes, and particularly where an interest in water is pursued primarily to secure a financial profit. In contrast, the River District supports investments in water resources where the end-goal is to promote productive agriculture, to develop water for viable beneficial uses (both consumptive and non-consumptive), and to rehabilitate the State’s aging water infrastructure.
July 21, 2020
The River District will advocate that the transmountain diverted waters be efficiently used and fully reused to extinction and ensure that mitigation conditions on existing transmountain diversion projects are honored and upheld.
Policy as PDF
April 17, 2018
The Colorado River District supports the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program and its dual purpose of recovering fish species listed as endangered while allowing historical water use and water development to continue consistent with state law and Colorado’s entitlements under the Colorado River Compacts.
Policy as PDF
January 15, 2019
The Colorado River District and the Colorado River Water Projects Enterprise is authorized and directed to provide for the beneficial use of water available for use from the Enterprise’s storage capacity in Wolford Mountain Reservoir and other sources of supply such as Eagle Park Reservoir.
Policy as PDF
January 15, 2019
The Colorado River District and the Colorado River Water Projects Enterprise is authorized and directed to provide for the beneficial use of water available for use from the Enterprise’s storage capacity in Elkhead Reservoir.
Policy as PDF
July 16, 2019
The Colorado River District`s primary objective with respect to water quality is to protect the ability of the district’s residents to use water beneficially now and in the future.
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