The Colorado State Engineer has designated the White River Basin above the Taylor Draw Power Conduit at Taylor Draw Reservoir in northwest Colorado as over-appropriated, effective May 1, 2025. This decision comes after several years during which water rights owners in the area reported not receiving their full decreed amounts and requested curtailments of water usage, known as “calls,” to the Colorado Division of Water Resources (DWR).
In December 2022 and again in July 2023, calls were placed on the White River upstream of Taylor Draw Power Conduit. Following these events, Erin Light, DWR Division 6 Engineer, and her team assessed the situation and formally recommended that the basin be declared over-appropriated.
“Calls in the past few years have made it clear to me that the White River does not supply enough water to meet demands during part of the year, leading me to request this designation that will protect senior appropriators from future unreplaced well depletions,” said Light.
With this designation, new non-exempt well permits above the Taylor Draw Power Conduit will require a court-approved augmentation plan. Such a plan allows users to pump groundwater by replacing it with an equivalent amount from another source.
“This designation is part of the unfortunate story we’re seeing play out across the Upper Colorado River Basin,” said Jason Ullmann, Colorado State Engineer and Director of the Colorado Division of Water Resources. “Extended drought and hotter temperatures, made worse by climate change, means there’s less water to go around. Even very senior water rights holders aren’t getting their full supply. Designating the White River as over-appropriated will help ensure senior water rights are protected and not harmed by additional groundwater pumping, which can impact surface water supplies.”
Future development within this basin will occur with an understanding that new water rights may be administered more frequently depending on hydrological conditions.
A memo outlining details about this designation is available online.
