Colorado

STATE SUPREME COURT NIXES RURAL WATER DEAL
Last month the Colorado Supreme Court blocked a huge water deal saying the two companies promoting it violated state anti-speculation law because the plan was ambiguous. State Water Judge, Denis Maes had ruled earlier that the application was so expansive and nebulous that other users could not tell if they would be harmed by the deal. The Supreme Court agreed. The companies bought Arkansas River water shares and planned to sell it for municipal supplies, irrigation and a number of other uses to any of 28 eastern Colorado counties. High Plains A&M and the Independent Shareholders Group applied to Water Court for permission to pull 100,000 acre-feet of water from the Fort Lyon Canal Company. The water could support as many as 500,000 individuals, or more than 200,000 homes. Under the deal, about 150,000 acre-feet would have remained in the Fort Lyon Canal Company system for agricultural and irrigation use. If they choose to, the companies can resubmit a more specific, less speculative plan in the future that enables other users to determine if they would be harmed by the deal.