Gov. Bill Ritter on Monday signed into law a significant revision to Colorado’s water law to allow water-rights holders to leave some of their water in the river without penalty.
Currently, water law is based largely on a use-it-or-lose-it premise known as consumptive use. If water-rights holders don’t use all the water they are allowed, their rights can be weakened.
The bill signed Monday — House Bill 1280 — lets water-rights holders lease a portion of their rights to the Colorado Water Conservation Board without fear of losing those rights.
“This is a good way to avoid the use-or-lose proposition of consumptive use,” Ritter said. “At the end of the day, it really does make a difference.”
Environmental and sportsmen groups say fuller rivers promote greater ecosystem health and pump millions more into the state’s economy because of more-robust rafting and fishing tourism.
“The in-stream flow program is one of the most important environment programs for the state of Colorado,” said Harris Sherman, director of the state Department of Natural Resources.
