Northern Water board sets 2026 quota to 80%

BERTHOUD — Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District’s board of directors has set the annual allocation of Colorado-Big Thompson Project water to 80%. That allocation, called the quota, will be made available to owners of C-BT allotment contracts through the high demand season.

The board set the quota in a unanimous vote during its meeting Thursday at Northern Water’s headquarters in Berthoud.

Historically, C-BT Project water has been a supplement to local supplies, meaning that the quota has been set lower in wet periods and higher in dry times. In setting the 2026 quota, board members and Northern Water staff acknowledged that the need for C-BT Project Water could have prompted a maximum quota delivery of 100%.

“The regional demand might be more than that,” Water Resources Department manager Luke Shawcross said.

Board members recognized that a conservative approach would offer greater long-term flexibility if drought conditions persist.

“We have run the C-BT Project very cautiously and conservatively,” said board member Jennifer Gimbel of Larimer County.

The board had set a quota of 50% in November, putting water into the accounts of C-BT Project allottees at the start of the water year. Through the winter and early spring, the board monitored the region’s snowpack, water stored in reservoirs managed by East Slope ditch and reservoir companies and available water in Colorado-Big Thompson Project reservoirs. The board also solicited comments from the region’s water users at the Spring Water Symposium on Tuesday in Loveland, by written communications and at Thursday’s Board meeting.

Water resources specialist Emily Carbone told the board that low winter snowpack will result in reduced stream flows in 2026. However, colleague Sarah Smith, a senior water resources engineer at Northern Water, said the C-BT Project’s reservoirs are above their historic average for this date, which would allow a higher quota to be set.

For water users who live in Northern Water’s boundaries east of Kersey, allocated and delivered water will enter the South Platte River as return flows from upstream farms, factories and wastewater treatment plants, adding another water source to the traditional South Platte River flows.

Water for the project is diverted from the Upper Colorado and Big Thompson rivers and stored in Horsetooth Reservoir and Carter Lake until needed for use by allotment contract holders.

The quota percentage reflects the amount of water per acre-foot that allottees holding C-BT Project allotment contracts can receive through Oct. 31. For example, if a farmer or water provider holds 100 units of C-BT Project water allotment contracts, they could receive as much as 80 acre-feet of water delivered this year.

Water from the C-BT Project supplements other sources for 33 cities and towns, 120 agricultural irrigation companies, various industries and other water users within Northern Water’s 1.6 million-acre service area. According to recent census figures, more than 1.1 million residents now live inside Northern Water’s boundary.

Northern Water, a public agency created in 1937, provides water for food production and municipal, domestic and industrial uses in Northeastern Colorado via the Colorado-Big Thompson Project, Pleasant Valley Pipeline and Southern Water Supply Project. Northern Water also generates hydropower at two sites and provides water quality services throughhout the region. Its Municipal Subdistrict delivers water through the Windy Gap Project and will store it in the recently completed Chimney Hollow Reservoir. Northern Water is also currently planning the Northern Integrated Supply Project.

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