News & Information
This time last year, Colorado’s drought was at its lowest level in nearly two decades. One-hundred percent of the state was drought-free. As of June 30, 2020, more than 84 percent of the state is experiencing abnormally dry conditions and 56 percent of the state is experiencing severe, extreme or exceptional drought.
Recharging water through the alluvial aquifer is an important part of water rights management. Recharge water is used for things such as replicating groundwater return flows, retiming groundwater return flows, or developing recharge credit for uses such as augmentation. A good alluvial recharge site is important in achieving project goals while maximizing water efficiency.
Martin and Wood provided engineering support for the first Fallowing-Leasing Pilot Project in Colorado, which is one of a myriad of projects identified as Alternative Transfer Methods (ATMs). It's a ten-year undertaking to allow water from senior irrigation water rights to be temporarily available for municipal use through the voluntary rotational fallowing of irrigated lands. The approach is an alternative to "buy and dry" that had the side effect of closing farms. Halfway into the ten-year Catlin Pilot Project, we share our progress and lessons learned.
