Colorado Water Conservation Board Approve Deficit Irrigation Pilot Projects

Current law allows the Colorado water conservation board to approve up to 15 pilot projects for agricultural water leasing or fallowing projects. The bill expands the types of projects that may be approved to include deficit irrigation projects, which use less than the optimal amount of water on a particular crop, but limits these projects to water divisions 2 and 3 and within the boundaries of the upper Gunnison water conservancy district. The bill also excludes from the determination of historical consumptive use decreases in use resulting from deficit irrigation projects to conserve or lease water.

(Note: This summary applies to the reengrossed version of this bill as introduced in the second house.)