The backbone of every water entity is its water rights. At SMWSA, we understand that one of our fundamental tasks is to secure water rights for the benefit of our members. That’s why achievements in water rights are critical to our future. Take a look at some of the recent water rights achievements from SWMSA:

WISE Partnership – Cooperation and cohesion for the future. This year, we took a substantial step forward in realizing our goals by aligning with Denver Water and Aurora Water to create the Water Infrastructure and Supply Efficiency (WISE) Partnership.

The WISE Partnership roots are from an Intergovernmental Agreement (IgA) signed in February 2008 between Aurora Water and Denver Water. That agreement was followed by SMWSA signing a memorandum of understanding with Denver and Aurora in November 2008. Realizing that our goals were aligned, SMWSA then entered into a Joint Acquisition IgA with Denver Water and Aurora in May 2009.

The WISE Partnership will seek opportunities for the participants to realize greater efficiencies within our existing infrastructure and water rights. For SMWSA, that means we are entering into even greater regional cooperation and cohesion; we can get more use from our existing infrastructure; reduce our reliance on groundwater; increase available sustainable water to our members; and help to meet our long-term goals.

WISE Partnership Timeline

Colorado-Wyoming Coalition

Working Together Across State Lines
Transporting water across mountains, basins and state lines is nothing new in Colorado. In 2009, SMWSA joined a coalition of Colorado water entities interested in working together with Wyoming water entities to explore the possibility of building a large-scale trans-basin project from the Flaming Gorge Reservoir in Wyoming to the Front Range of Colorado.

SMWSA has invested $20,000 to help fund a feasibility study about building a pipeline from the Flaming gorge to the Front Range and in March 2010, the water entities from Colorado and Wyoming met at the State Capital to kick off the feasibility study. The coalition of water entities that have expressed interest in the project include the Town of Castle Rock, Donala Water-Sanitation District in Colorado Springs, Parker Water and Sanitation District, Douglas County in Colorado and Laramie County, Wyoming, and the Wyoming cities of Cheyenne, Torrington and Rawlins. It takes time, resources and cooperation to make a project of this scale a reality.

The bi-state coalition is composed of public sector water providers representing more than 500,000 residents from Colorado's Front Range and eastern Wyoming. The study will examine the possibility of building a pipeline from the Flaming Gorge to the Front Range to bring water supplies to coalition members in both states.

The study will:

• Identify the future water needs of each Coalition member
  
  
• Evaluate the water supply available from the Flaming Gorge Reservoir to meet member needs
  
  
• Identify water-supply infrastructure alternatives to deliver water consistent with the needs, including the requirement for carryover storage
  
  
• Develop the costs for the alternatives to assess the economic feasibility of such a project
  
  

Since the kick-off meeting, participants held an update meeting in mid-April 2010, where they reviewed the goals for the study. Participants include Parker Water and Sanitation District, Town of Castle Rock, SMWSA, Douglas County, Donala Water and Sanitation District in Colorado, and the City of Cheyenne, City of Torrington and Laramie County in Wyoming.

SMWSA Enters IGA to Form the
Colorado Water Authority

SMWSA together with the Parker Water and Sanitation District, Donala Water and Sanitation District, and the Town of Castle Rock, Colorado, have entered into an IGA to create the Colorado Water Authority. The purpose of this new water Authority is to contract with a similar water entity in Wyoming, known as the Joint Powers Board, to create a bi-state entity and partnership to potentially contract with the Bureau of Reclamation for lease and ultimate delivery of Colorado River water currently being captured and stored in the Flaming Gorge Reservoir.

The Colorado entities participating in the IGA would be entitled to lease and receive water that is allocated to Colorado's allocation of the Colorado River Water. Wyoming entities would seek lease and delivery of a portion of Wyoming's allocation.

ACCWA Flow - Securing the Flow of Water for Years to Come in Arapahoe County

In 2009, Arapahoe County Water and Wastewater Authority (ACWWA) launched the Flow Project, a $153-million transaction that secures long-term surface water rights from the South Platte River Basin.

Purchased from the United Water and Sanitation District, the water rights are on the South Platte River in Weld County. ACWWA has acquired space in East Cherry Creek valley Water and Sanitation District's Northern Pipeline to transport water to the ACWWA service area to be built in ACWWA's service area. Construction for the project began in 2010 and should be completed by 2012.

The Authority was formed in 1988 by an agreement with Arapahoe County and the Arapahoe Water and Sanitation District to provide water and wastewater service and develop water resources, systems and wastewater collection.