Grand Valley Water Users Association Conserved Consumptive Use Pilot Project

Western Slope Ag Water… including ours…is in the bull’s eye!

Issues too critical for GVWUA to ignore

• We take seriously the implications of increased demands on Colorado River water supplies

• The demographic and political pressures are straight forward • The science to-date indicates continued changes in climate patterns

that have huge potential impacts on irrigation water supply, runoff dynamics, and temperature related increased water demands in all sectors

• Potential impacts on farmers, urban and suburban water users, and irrigation and ditch companies

GVWUA water planning objectives: Protection and Benefit

• To protect our water rights, GVWUA must be engaged in the current debate; much of the pressure on the Colorado River supply concerns our water!

• Protection from poor planning by others can only be accomplished with West Slope agricultural interests being actively involved in its creation; leading to better plans balancing short term efforts to avoid a water crisis with the long term water needs of sustainable agriculture and non-metropolitan water supply.

• Prevent the loss or reduction in power revenues coming from Lake Powell and the potential for a Compact Call.

• Addressing the increasing demands on western water by those of us in the west, reduces the chances of increased federal involvement in western water issues.

GVWUA water planning objectives: Protection and Finding Benefit

• Identify tools for dealing with reduced Colorado River flows, changing runoff patterns, and reduced water supplies for agriculture and the entire Grand Valley

• We believe that good water plans have multiple beneficiaries, and that is where we believe the added value for GVWUA water may be found

• All agree that improvements to on-farm and irrigation delivery system infrastructure and operations can benefit producers and irrigation providers

GVWUA water planning objectives: Protection and Finding Benefit

• We believe that many such enhancements can benefit other interests outside of the irrigation district or beyond the producer also

• In some cases those external benefits may warrant outside investment in on-farm or delivery system improvements

• If this potential can indeed be captured, while protecting, and perhaps enhancing, the current and future security, sustainability, and value of existing water rights and the irrigation systems that support those rights… we are interested

Conserved Consumptive Use Pilot Project

• Consumptive Use is that portion of water available to a crop that is transpired during its growth and maturation plus evaporation from soils and intercepted precipitation. It is generally expressed in Acre Feet per acre. Consumptive use depends on crop type, temperature, humidity, wind speed, topography, sunlight hours, method of irrigation, moisture availability, soils, and agronomic practices and is highly variable amongst all of these factors.

• So… Conserved Consumptive Use is that amount of water not utilized for growing a crop, some portion of a crop, or by changing the crop grown and the attendant losses to evaporation. Saved water is the rotational crop.

WATER FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Conserved Consumptive Use Pilot Project

• 2016 Objectives• Refine and expand on 2015 investigations; operations and administration

• Determine the suitability, practicality, risk, and financial impacts of a CCU program administered by the Grand Valley Water Users Association; what are the risks; what are the benefits.

• Identify the interest level and willingness of producers to consider a CCU Pilot Program; what would be the agronomic components; verification and compliance issues; fallow and weed control; payment; solicit concerns and suggestions.

2017 GVWUA Conserved Consumptive Use Pilot Program, by the numbers

• 2017 irrigation season• 1250 acres participating• 10 farmers• 4 distinct Program Activities• 3,200 acre feet of CCU• $1,000,000 for farmer payments, program administration and

infrastructure improvements

Conserved Consumptive Use Pilot Project

• Creating CCU:• Rotational fallow-Alan Ferris• Deficit irrigation• Split season cropping-Joe Bernal• Changing crop type• GVWUA CCUPP 2017-Luke Gingerich