In 1859, pioneer David K. Wall, farmed a two-acre tract of land in what is now the town of Golden, “which he irrigated by direct flow from one of the small tributaries of Clear Creek. His experiment proved so successful that he increased his irrigated area to eight acres the following year. Again he was very successful and the story of his success spread rapidly.” This succinct recounting of the early days of irrigated agriculture in Colorado can be found in the 1922 Year B

Alternative Water Transfers in Colorado: A Review of Alternative Transfer Mechanisms for Front Range Municipalities A recent report completed a financial comparison of the water supply development options currently pursued by Front Range municipalities, including new storage, buying agricultural water rights, purchasing ditch shares, groundwater wells, and also alternative transfer methods. Over an extended period of time, it is much more cost effective for the municipalities

Statewide Historical Consumptive Use Bill HB 17-1289, State Engineer Rules Historical Consumptive Use Bill, was introduced in the House last month. The bill calls for the State Engineer’s Office to develop rules to allow an applicant to calculate historical consumptive use of a water right for a temporary loan or change approved by the State Engineer or permanent change approved by a water judge. This is intended to be an alternative to reduce transaction costs and time to