Working With Agriculture

SDS uses existing water rights we already own. It doesn’t require any new water rights and won’t dry up any agricultural water. We have a longstanding history of working with ranchers and farmers in the Arkansas River watershed to maximize the availability of water for all users and we look forward to continuing this relationship with agricultural water users.

SDS will benefit agricultural users because it uses our existing water rights more efficiently. It may also provide a unique opportunity to supplement our water supply in drought cycles by leasing water from farmers and ranchers. Under such a leasing program, farmers would benefit by maintaining ownership of their water rights and putting them to productive use when conditions are too dry to sustain crops.

We regularly work with ranchers and farmers to manage all of our respective water rights to the best mutual benefit. This includes operations such as water exchanges, coordinated releases and operating schedules, and water leases to the farmers in wet years to minimize impact and maximize benefits to each of our systems. And we’re committed to continuing our relationships with agricultural water users in our region.