Boulder County says drought is leaving some junior ditches dry
County water staff told an advisory committee that some junior ditches have received little or no water, planted acreage is down and crop losses are mounting.
Boulder County agricultural tenants are under severe drought stress, with some junior ditches receiving little or no water, county staff told the Parks and Open Space Advisory Committee on June 25.
Staff said in a meeting presentation that snowpack had fallen to 15% of median by June 19 and that some producers were in "survival mode." They also said planted acreage was sharply reduced and hay, grain and other crops had suffered major yield losses.
The committee took no action. Records reviewed for this story do not quantify the acreage reduction or crop losses, and they do not show a county aid package under discussion at the meeting.
A county water-rights memo says Parks and Open Space irrigates more than 15,000 acres, holds interests in more than 160 water rights, leases land to about 60 tenant farmers and sits on 37 ditch boards. The memo says water allocation in Colorado depends on seniority, so junior rights can be cut back when supplies are short.
The county says its agricultural water managers use streamflow forecasts, local knowledge and coordination with ditch companies and tenants to anticipate deliveries.