After five years of high-profile negotiations and decades of tensions, the agreement proposed in April 2011 emphasizes cooperation, bringing together traditional enemies of water as partners for responsible water development that benefits both Denver Water and the Western Slope. The cooperation agreement includes various measures for Denver Water and Western Slope that benefit both the water supply and the environment. Read the draft contract here. The Inter-Basin Pact Committee and roundtables, supported by the Colorado Water Conservation Board, address many sensitive issues related to the 2050 water supply gap. The March 1 Roundtable Summit will be another step in this process. This is a very important job: to find cooperative and balanced solutions for water supply. At this point, everything is theoretical, but we hope that it will lead to real agreements. Rehabilitation of colorado`s Fraser River shows early signs of success For decades, the Fraser River in Grand County, Colorado has turned into a trickle of water each fall as the melting snow that drives the river dissolves. Weak currents have led to warmer water temperatures and a decrease in wildlife. Nevertheless, all parties are committed to the agreement. ”The deal isn`t up for discussion, but it`s like, OK, we have these big ideas, how do we do it?” said Pokrandt.
The River District and Grand County units plan to wait and sign once they are confident that everything will be done to their satisfaction, as others certainly will. Now that water leaders have signed at Eagle, 36 more will start signing the deal – although everyone can guess when that will happen. ”It`s big enough to start the wave of signatures,” said Jim Pokrandt, a communications specialist in the Colorado River District. ”Today`s signing of the collaboration agreement is an important step towards a sustainable and consensual future development of Colorado`s water resources. This document sets Colorado on a collaborative path to the future that protects the health of our state`s rivers and streams, the quality of life of coloradans, and the state`s economy. I hope that these important discussions will continue so that all parties can sign and the agreement can be fully implemented. The CRCA was signed today by Denver Water, Grand County, Summit County and Clinton Ditch & Reservoir Co. It was signed in February by several other units on the western slope. The agreement calls for long-term cooperative efforts to improve the health of the Colorado River and its tributaries. That has changed this year, at least along a short stretch of the Fraser River. And that`s because of an unusual partnership that includes Denver Water, which diverts most of the river to the Front Range, and Trout Unlimited, which has been fighting for its protection for decades.
The group, called Learning by Doing, focused its efforts on nearly a kilometer of the river near Tabernash. Work on the $200,000 project was completed earlier this fall. In 2014, after five years of negotiations on the Moffat Collection System Project (Moffat Project), Grand County and Denver Water agreed on how to protect the Fraser River and its tributaries from the project`s impact. Aside from my comments in this post, I might add that this agreement serves as a model for the entire state as Colorado ponders how to find an adequate water supply for a population that is expected to double to 10 million people by 2050. Denver Water has unused water rights to the river, which begins in the shadow of Berthoud Pass and descends on the west side of the watershed, past Winter Park, Fraser and Tabernash to flow into the Colorado River outside Granby. -More- The Fraser Flats Habitat Project is a collaboration between Learning By Doing, an association of local water stakeholders that formed a committee a few years ago to strengthen collaboration and reduce disputes between Front Range water diversions, local governments and highland conservation groups. The Fraser Flats project is the group`s pilot project to restore a section of the Fraser River that is about a mile long. There are still a few issues that need to be resolved with the agreement – the management of the Green Mountain Reservoir and the Shoshone Power Plant at Glenwood Canyon. Both of these issues require approval from the Bureau of Reclamation, the Office of the State Engineer, and the Office of the State Attorney General, which may take some time. Read Coyote Gulch`s cover of the Grand Junction Sentinel to learn more. Return of fish to the troubled section of the Fraser River KUSA – This is a success in river restoration The Colorado River Cooperation Agreement (CRCA) has begun a long-term partnership between Denver Water and the West Slope. The agreement provides a framework for many of the parties` actions in support of water supply, water quality, recreation and the environment on both sides of the watershed.
Fraser Flats, a stretch nearly a kilometre long of the Fraser River in Grand County, is showing signs of recovery after a restoration project, according to Denver Water. The $200,000 river restoration project was completed in September with the goal of helping aquatic life stay healthy year-round. .