Technology outfits hope to ease Front Range water wars

For the better part of a century, Northern Colorado farmers have used the Lake Canal reservoir system north of Fort Collins to divert water from the Poudre River to irrigate their crops.

But ever-rising demand for water from growing cities along the Front Range has created plenty of tension and heartache and is, according to agricultural interests, hurting the state’s farming economy. They call it “buy-and-dry.” Farmers, especially those nearing retirement and who may not have children willing to take on their operations, often contribute to the problem, opting to cash out rather than fight in the West’s latest water…