Northern Water sets 2018 allocation at 80 percent

BERTHOUD — Strong regional water storage coupled with below-average precipitation prompted the Northern Water board of directors to increase its 2018 quota allocation for the Colorado-Big Thompson Project to 80 percent.
The board unanimously approved the allocation at its meeting Thursday at Northern Water’s headquarters in Berthoud.
Sarah Smith, a water-resources engineer at Northern Water, said total storage in the region was above average for the fifth-straight year. While Colorado precipitation has been below average this winter, recent storms boosted the snowpack in the northern portion of the state.
“The Poudre basin did benefit quite a bit from those storms,” she said.
Water Resources’ manager Andy Pineda recommended the 80 percent quota to the board based on the existing snowpack totals, runoff projections, regional water storage and input from water users.
The 80 percent quota increases available C-BT Project water supplies by 93,000 acre-feet from the initial 50 percent quota made available in November.
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, 960,000 residents live inside Northern Water’s boundaries.
The Colorado-Big Thompson Project collects water on the Western Slope and delivers it to the northern Front Range through a 13-mile tunnel that runs under Rocky Mountain National Park. To learn more about Northern Water and the C-BT quota, visit www.northernwater.org.

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