Greeley – An era of Colorado agriculture closed Thursday with a $6.4 million water sale.
In five hours, auctioneer John Korrey sold off virtually all the assets of an association that had allowed farmers to pump water from the South Platte River basin for three decades.
The water rights held by Groundwater Appropriators of the South Platte, or GASP, fetched $6.4 million, much of it from municipalities bidding for the agricultural water.
That means farmers who belonged to GASP will eventually get some money for their shares. But that brought little comfort to those who witnessed its demise.
“I’d rather have the water,” said Bill McCracken, 79, a farmer who has been unable to harvest a crop since GASP collapsed three years ago.
GASP formed after Colorado passed a landmark 1969 law requiring tributary groundwaters to be regulated as part of its rivers, just as creeks flowing into a river are considered part of the stream.
Colorado has a seniority-based water rights system, which put farmers who relied on groundwater wells in line behind those who held the original rights to the South Platte.
GASP was supposed to bridge that gap by supplying water to the river to offset pumping by its members. But it never acquired enough water to compensate for wells that pumped about 75 billion gallons a year, converting dry prairie to prosperous farms.
It was finally doomed by a 2003 Colorado Supreme Court decision that prevented the state from extending that groundwater consumption with annual temporary permits.
Many farmers had their wells shut down. Others paid a premium to buy water rights from any source they could find.
Thursday’s auction wiped out the water rights that GASP did acquire in its 32-year history.
The city of Brighton was one beneficiary. Terry Benton, the city public works director, spent $1.2 million for a set of water rights that, he said, “run right through town.”
That was $300,000 less than the City Council had authorized, and “I’m very, very happy with that,” he said.
Jack Odor, GASP’s manager, said there are tax issues to resolve before he can distribute the auction proceeds.
“About 750 people will get a check in the mail someday,” he said.
Staff writer David Olinger can be reached at 303-820-1498 or dolinger@denverpost.com.
