Why It Matters
Colorado has established the state’s first legal requirement that entities purchasing agricultural water rights must revegetate farmland when irrigation water is permanently removed. The measure, set to become law in southeastern Colorado’s Lower Arkansas River basin, could serve as a template for similar protections in other water-stressed regions of the state.
The legislation addresses long-standing conflicts between rural farming communities and Front Range cities that have purchased agricultural water rights, sometimes leaving behind deteriorated land vulnerable to erosion and invasive weeds.
What Happened
The Colorado legislature gave final passage to House Bill 1340, which establishes revegetation requirements when irrigation water is transferred away from farmland along the Lower Arkansas River. Governor Jared Polis is expected to sign the measure after officials from his Department of Natural Resources testified in support.
The law assigns responsibility for revegetation to the entity removing the water and strengthens the role of local counties by requiring water courts to incorporate county revegetation criteria and enforcement mechanisms into change-of-use decrees.
Jack Goble, general manager of the Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District, said the law sets clear expectations and creates accountability to protect land, neighboring landowners, and rural communities affected when water leaves agricultural production.
By The Numbers
Aurora Water opened an office in Rocky Ford in 1988 with full-time staff dedicated to revegetation and land stewardship in the Lower Arkansas Valley. The city has operated in the region for decades, acquiring river rights and agricultural water rights to supply its growing Front Range population.
The controversy extends beyond the Lower Arkansas River. Thornton purchased thousands of acres of water rights in Weld and Larimer counties and is constructing a pipeline to transport the water.
Aurora and Colorado Springs have faced decades of criticism from southeastern Colorado counties over past purchases that left areas vulnerable to deterioration.
Key Changes From Original Bill
The final version includes significant modifications from the original proposal. The initial bill would have limited water use transfers to 50 percent of purchased water until half the affected farmland had been revegetated. The passed version removes that hard percentage cap and gives water agencies more flexibility through bonding or permit negotiations.
The original bill included a mandatory five-year water court oversight period for revegetation after rights transfers. The final version allows water courts to create oversight periods only when there is substantial risk that reclamation could regress.
The law requires reclamation agreements with cities to be written into change-of-use decrees after details are negotiated through intergovernmental agreements during the permit process.
Water Agency Response
Aurora Water spokesperson Shonnie Cline said the utility supports the legislation’s overall intent and noted that House Bill 1340 was largely modeled after practices Aurora Water has already implemented in the region. The agency does not anticipate the bill significantly changing its current operations.
However, Aurora Water expressed concerns about potential expansion of similar legislation to other river basins. The utility warned that such expansion could harm existing dryland farming operations or create disincentives for farmers successfully operating under dryland agricultural practices on converted lands.
Aurora Water stated that water courts should retain authority to independently evaluate whether revegetation or dryland farming standards are technically appropriate and scientifically supported for each specific case.
Zoom Out
The legislation addresses a decades-old conflict in Western water law between urban growth demands and agricultural preservation. Cities along Colorado’s Front Range have long purchased agricultural water rights from rural areas to meet population growth, a practice critics call buy-and-dry.
Similar tensions exist in other Western states where municipal water agencies acquire agricultural water rights. Colorado’s approach of mandating revegetation through water court decrees represents a policy model that could influence water management practices beyond the state.
Governor Polis’s spokesperson Ally Sullivan noted that Colorado agricultural lands are vital to the state’s economy and way of life, and protecting lands from drought, erosion, and invasive weeds is important for natural resources and communities.
What’s Next
Governor Polis is expected to sign the bill into law. Once enacted, the revegetation requirements will apply to future water rights transfers in the Lower Arkansas River basin.
Southeastern Colorado advocates and water agencies will negotiate intergovernmental agreements that establish specific revegetation criteria and enforcement mechanisms to be incorporated into water court decrees. Local counties will play an expanded role in setting standards for land reclamation.
Whether the legislature will extend similar protections to other river basins remains uncertain, though the Lower Arkansas model could serve as a framework for future legislation in regions affected by agricultural water transfers.