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BLM and Water Board move to protect Burrows Creek; Mineral Point Ditch acquired for in‑stream use
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Summary
The Bureau of Land Management has purchased the Mineral Point Ditch and plans to lease it in perpetuity to the Colorado Water Conservation Board for in‑stream flow protection on Burrows Creek; CWCB staff outlined the in‑stream flow and acquisition process and said formal board consideration could start in March.
BLM and Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) staff briefed San Juan County commissioners on a two-track effort to protect flows on Burrows Creek: a proposed CWCB new-appropriation for an in‑stream flow reach, and an acquisition of a preexisting diversion, the Mineral Point Ditch, to keep trans-basin water in the Animas watershed.
Rob, a CWCB staffer, explained the in‑stream flow program and its statutory basis: CWCB holds interim flow (ISF) and natural lake level rights to preserve the natural environment; the board appropriates or acquires water rights and then has them adjudicated through state water court. The recommended Burrows Creek appropriation would cover roughly 1.3 miles from the headwaters to the North Fork Animas confluence and would be formed from field-based hydraulic analyses (R2Cross methodology) and an assessment of available water.
Roy Smith, BLM statewide in-stream flow coordinator, told the board BLM had purchased the Mineral Point Ditch (originally decreed in 1956 for 11 cubic feet per second) and intends to enter a long-term, perpetual lease to the CWCB for in-stream use on Burrows Creek. Roy said BLM has already constructed a berm that prevents water from flowing into the ditch and that the BLM’s purchase was motivated by the ditch’s previous effect of diverting nearly all baseflow out of Burrows Creek, causing damage to riparian wetlands and macroinvertebrate communities and routing water across mine tailings.
Roy described Burrows Creek as an alpine reach with seep-fed wetlands and lehi/fen complexes that help bind metals, and said preserving baseflows would protect riparian vegetation and aquatic life. He noted the watershed overlaps portions of the Bonita Peak mining Superfund site and that routing baseflow into the creek rather than across tailings supports remediation goals.
Rob (CWCB) outlined process and timing: recommended appropriations typically begin with a public outreach and staff-analysis year, followed by formal board consideration; the board must make statutory findings that a natural environment exists, water is available, and that appropriation will not materially injure other water rights. He said CWCB staff planned outreach and that the formal CWCB process could appear on the board’s March calendar to move to a more formal public hearing phase.
BLM and CWCB staff said they are coordinating with Southwestern Water Conservation District and Colorado Parks and Wildlife, have notified affected stakeholders, and will continue public outreach. No final water-court filing had been made at the time of the county briefing; BLM and CWCB staff said the acquisition and appropriation will both require water-court proceedings if approved by the CWCB.
