Alarm sounded on water

Owens declares emergency in wake of well shutdowns

Todd Hartman And Jerd Smith, Rocky Mountain News

Published May 11, 2006 at midnight

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Gov. Bill Owens declared a state of emergency for northeastern Colorado farmers Wednesday, as the state moved to shut down hundreds of irrigation wells along the South Platte River.

The declaration could translate into loans and cash to aid farmers in the region who, in some cases, have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on spring planting but now find themselves without enough water and facing the loss of their crops.

Owens' disaster declaration followed an order from the state engineer this week to shut down some 440 wells in order to protect flows in the South Platte River. The state engineer's action was affirmed Wednesday by an order from the state water court in Greeley.

The governor's declaration has a twofold effect: It seeks low-interest emergency loans from the U.S. Department of Agriculture in case crops fail as a result of water losses. And, at the state level, it makes farmers and water districts eligible for a share of $1 million in an emergency drought-response fund established by lawmakers in 2002.

But even the state officials at the heart of the effort acknowledged that farmers need water more than they need loans or cash.

"The allocations of these emergency funds doesn't solve the problem, and declaring a disaster emergency doesn't create more water," said the governor's spokesman, Dan Hopkins.

Weld County, meanwhile, made its own disaster declaration and plea to the governor, while frustrated state lawmakers implored the state to take action in the matter.

U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, who represents the region, joined the chorus with a letter to President Bush seeking a presidential disaster declaration for the region.

"Without this designation, many farmers will take such heavy losses that they will not recover," Musgrave wrote. "This would not only be devastating to the individual farmers, but will also have a severe impact on the economy of northeastern Colorado."

The crisis, felt most keenly by farmers between Brighton and Greeley, has deep roots extending as far back as the 1960s, when farmers with surface water rights on the South Platte River began complaining that well pumping in the region was depleting river flows.

Fast-forward nearly 40 years, to a state law passed in 2003 to protect surface river flows from the siphoning effects of wells. Since then, farmers dependent on wells have been scrambling to find new sources of water and new irrigating techniques to cut their impact on South Platte flows.

But about 200 farmers, including many who are part of the Central Colorado Water Conservancy District, haven't been able to comply with demands. That left State Engineer Hal Simpson with little choice but to shut down the wells in counties along the South Platte River, including Weld, Adams and Morgan, a decision state officials have described as "agonizing."

Tom Cech, executive director of the Central Colorado Water Conservancy District, said the farmers affected so far by the shutdown appreciate the state's effort, but said they need water immediately.

"Their crop will be dead in seven days," he said.

On Wednesday, top state executives, including Owens and Russell George, director of the Department of Natural Resources, and Don Ament, the state agriculture commissioner, huddled to see what relief, if any, can go to the farmers.

Underlying the crisis, however, was recognition that the dry-up along the South Platte represents a stark manifestation of Colorado's unceasing struggles to tap enough water to satisfy an ever-growing state.

"Clearly, there was going to be a day of reckoning," George said. "That's part of what's happening here. But the overarching issue is that supply hasn't kept up with demand."

George was referring especially to fierce competition for water supplies in the South Platte River Basin, a region that is home to Colorado's largest irrigated farm economy and its largest population cluster - 3.1 million people.

Bill Jerke, a Weld County commissioner and farmer, said the moment marks "a time of change for irrigated agriculture that will test its creativity."

Acres will dry up, he said, and some farmers will pack it in. Others, with more senior water rights, will find a way to survive.

"This is a big wake-up call for all the rest of the well users to understand we will need to go ahead and make changes in our operations," Jerke said.

Jerke said the farmers seeing their wells shut down weren't ignoring the warnings.

Instead, since 2003, most were scrambling to undertake the costly and time-consuming legal and engineering work needed to find alternate supplies.

Ament echoed the assertion.

"They've been busting their tails," he said.

"The record will reflect the money spent by Central and other water users. . . . They have not been sitting on their hands."

The crisis erupted over a short period of time, Ament said, as a dry April cut the ability of other suppliers to send water to the Central Conservancy District. That left Central to conclude its plan wasn't sufficient to meet requirements to preserve South Platte River flows.

That realization came even after the district had prepared farmers to pump only 15 percent of their usual levels.

Ament said he and others will appeal to water providers throughout northeastern Colorado, including cities such as Longmont, Fort Collins and Aurora, as well as the largest provider in the region, the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District, to see if they can supply water-strapped farmers with any excess.

But in interviews Wednesday, it wasn't clear that cities - worried themselves about weak moisture patterns in April that depleted snowpack and stream flows - were ready to open their spigots.

"Our supplies are in pretty good shape this year," said Dennis Bode, Fort Collins' water resources manager.

But he cautioned that the city wasn't prepared to enter into any long-term agreement with the farmers.

Under state law, the well users must show they can return sufficient supplies to the river during a three-year period.

Fort Collins said it has opted to take a conservative stance against long-term leases because the drought may recur, leaving its citizens short of water.

Nor does the city of Boulder, which has, at times, leased water to surface water users on the South Platte, plan on providing water in this case.

"We do have a pretty extensive agricultural leasing program, but all of our extra supplies are usually taken up by agricultural users in the Boulder Creek Basin," said Carol Ellinghouse, Boulder's water resources coordinator.

The crimp on growers isn't an abstract matter for metro-area residents, Ament said, noting that the crops in jeopardy include popular foods such as broccoli, sweet corn, cabbage, carrots, beans and onions.

"This time, we're talking about vegetable crops that people in Denver eat," he said.

"This isn't some crop that goes to a flour mill, or to China or whatever."

Staff writer Lynn Bartels and The Associated Press contributed to this report. hartmant@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-892-5048

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