Transcript

Getches: If you leave it in the stream, there's no evidence that you're actually putting water to beneficial use

As Jeff was indicating, the laws that allow for instream flows are relatively new in our system. We've always had laws allowing consumptive use -- take it out of the stream, put it to a beneficial use, and you have a property right. But if you leave it in the stream, there is no evidence that you are really making a beneficial use. So it took the legislature to declare that there is a beneficial use for the water when we leave it in the stream for fish and recreation. In our state of Colorado, we considered legislation, just like Jeff is suggesting would be meritorious, that is you let a rancher convert an irrigation right to instream flow and maintain a fishing lodge there. Or donate the water right or sell the water right to a conservation organization and have it converted to public uses, instream flow. That is something that seemed very appealing to people who were conservationists or interested in the free market. But it sent shockwaves through the water establishment interests in our state to think that our senior water rights, not just junior water rights with a 2000 priority, would be committed to instream flows. The bill was changed and will not be passed in this session. So you have to have legislative approval.

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