CREATED in 2004, the Well Augmentation Subdistrict (WAS) has been through many battles. The story began in 1969 when the Colorado state legislature passed an act requiring al­luvial wells to participate in the priority system. In this system of “first in time, first in right,” newer or “junior” water rights cannot be used if there a senior “call” or demand on the river.
Since wells typically need to operate during the peak spring and summer months, the legislature also passed a law allowing wells to pump out-of-priority if they had an augmentation plan. A state approved augmentation plan delivers alternate water sources to the South Platte River to cover any depletions caused by pumping.
The Groundwater Appro­priators of the South Platte (GASP) provided a tempo­rary plan for thousands of well owners in northeastern Colorado. In 2004 this group disbanded, leaving these wells unable to pump. The CCWCD Board of Directors made the decision to aide as many of these people as possible.
WAS accepted 440 of these displaced wells in the over-appropriated South Platte River basin. The initial fee to join was $5,000 per well. These fees were used to mitigate the costs of purchasing water rights and storage to cover the depletions of the newly acquired wells.
All augmentation plans are required by the state to obtain a decree from their divisional water court. A decree is a legal document signed by a judge showing the plan has sufficient water sources to cover the deple­tions created by pumping. During this lengthy process, the Subdistrict was allowed to operate under a temporary “Substitute Water Supply Plan” approved by the State Engineer.
In 2003 the Colorado Su­preme Court determined that the State Engineer did not have the authority to admin­ister Substitute Water Supply Plans. Objectors to the augmentation plan filed with the courts claiming damages from the pumped wells to senior water right holders. These 2 factors, combined with the worst drought in over 300 years in Colorado, meant disaster for members of WAS.
The Subdistrict agreed to dis­continue operation until such time as the augmentation plan went to trial in water court. At that time each contract holder was reduced to one well per contract.
WAS decree went to trial in the spring of 2007. The trial continued through two months of intensive depositions and expert witness testimony.  Judge Roger Klein ended the fact gathering phase of the trial in May, 2007. After many more months of study and deliberation, Judge Klein issued a ruling in October that WAS was entitled to a decree. After a period of filings by objectors, the judge signed the official decree in May, 2008. This decree set the framework for future pumping as water sup­plies were secured.

The owner of each member well listed in the augmentation plan enters into a Water Allotment Contract with the Subdistrict. The criteria required is land owner and well owner information, legal descriptions of the irrigated parcels and the well permit number along with the adjudication decree for the well.  Does surface water supplement the well and is the parcel sprinkler or flood irrigated.  All this information is used to determine the amount of acre feet of consumptive use allocated to the contract.  The annual assessment billed each year in January is based on that consumptive use number.  Central’s Board of Directors closed membership for both Subdistricts in 2005 when we had to start issuing an annual quota and monitoring pumping.

The flow meters are the property of CCWCD. Contract holders are responsible for monitoring and reading the flow meter.  The meter should be read on the first day of each month and reported by the 10^th of the month. Timely and accurate readings are vital to our augmentation plan.  If a well owner finds a flow meter is malfunctioning, they are responsible for reporting it to CCWCD.  Centrals staff will repair or replace a broken flow meter.

Members of the Subdistrict may transfer their unpumped allocations to other members of the same Subdistrict. The contract must be in and remain in compliance with the terms of their Water Allotment Contract, the Water Conservancy Act, CCWCD’s Policies, Rules and Regulations and all applicable terms of their permits and decrees to participate in Quota Trading.

In March of 2012 the Central Colorado Water Conservancy District, the Groundwater Management Subdistrict and the Well Augmentation Subdistrict Board of Directors adopted a policy regarding the permanent transfer of Water Allotment Contracts.

In most cases, when a parcel that is irrigated by a well is sold, the well(s) and Water Allotment Contract are included in the sale, allowing the new landowner to continue to irrigate the parcel. The board policy allows a Water Allotment Contract to be sold separately from the land under certain circumstances.

If a Water Allotment Contract holder is selling the parcel covered by the contract, or changing the use of the land so that the parcel will no longer be irrigated, it is advised that they contact CCWCD in advance regarding the options for the contract. If a contract holder is changing the name on the title to the property such as transferring it to a business name or creating a trust, contact our office to avoid any issues with the contract. Every transfer or revision to a Water Allotment Contract is subject to board approval.