WATER MANAGEMENT
The PRRIP restores and maintains the wide braided channel conditions that occurred historically in the central Platte.
Through a shared approach, three states and conservation groups are improving the way the Platte River is managed.
T
he Platte River is one of the hardest-working rivers in the world, supporting 8.5 million acre-feet of storage and more than 7,000 diversion
rights. It provides domestic water for most of the 5 million people living along Colo- rado’s Front Range and irrigation water for 3.6 million acres across Colorado, Wyo- ming and Nebraska. This development has reduced the river’s yield by approximately 50% and dampened flow variability, result- ing in dramatic channel adjustment.
Approximately 80% of the wide braided channel area in the big bend reach of the Platte, critical habitat for whooping cranes and other species, was lost to narrowing
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between 1940 and 1980. With present and future water users facing resulting interstate water supply and endangered species issues, basin stakeholders chose to enter into a Cooperative Agreement to develop a program that would proactively address species issues and provide regula- tory certainty for water users.
A 13-year First Increment of the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program was authorized by Congress in 2007 and was recently extended for an additional 13 years (
www.platteriverprogram.org). During that time, the program has acquired an interest in 13,000 acres of land and 110,000 acre- feet of water and implemented an adaptive management research program to guide
use of land, water and financial resources to benefit target species. The cost of this work is substantial with average annual expendi- tures in excess of $10 million.
Communicating with a diverse audience
Program staff’s responsibilities frequently involve speaking to diverse audiences ranging from ditch company boards to bird watchers to civic organizations. When speaking to agricultural or domestic water users, we focus on regulatory certainty. The program quieted interstate water liti- gation and provides endangered species coverage for all upper basin water-related activities prior to 1997. Just as important, it provides streamlined coverage for future water-related activities. This means exist- ing water users can focus on their oper- ations and Front Range water users can focus on developing new supply for their
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