Aurora committee moves statewide water-rights proposal toward drafting
Committee members agreed to advance a proposal on agricultural water rights converted to municipal or industrial use outside the Arkansas River Valley; Rep. Carter is expected to sponsor it.
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Aurora’s Federal, State & Intergovernmental Relations Policy Committee agreed Oct. 15 to move a proposed statewide water-rights bill toward drafting. The proposal would address agricultural water rights converted to municipal or industrial use outside the Arkansas River Valley, and Rep. Carter is expected to sponsor it.
Mike Foster described a proposal for water courts to assess these conversions based on evidence and site-specific conditions, rather than applying the process in House Bill 26-1340 statewide. Foster said Carter had agreed to sponsor the bill. After Foster asked whether Carter could initiate drafting, two committee members agreed and the chair said the committee would proceed, the meeting recording shows. The committee did not approve bill language.
The Colorado General Assembly’s enacted HB 26-1340 applies to qualifying agricultural-irrigation water-right changes in Water Division 2. For changes made on or after Jan. 1, 2027, it requires safeguards such as revegetation or dryland farming, with water-court oversight that includes success criteria and third-party reviews.
Views on HB 26-1340 have differed. Aurora Water supported the law’s overall intent but raised concerns about extending similar requirements to other parts of Colorado, while the Lower Arkansas Water Conservancy District advocated for the law, Rocky Mountain PBS reported.
The proposal’s draft text was not available in the materials reviewed, so its precise coverage and requirements remain unclear.