County reports progress on water-rights change application including Rocky Ford shares

A county representative updated the commission on a formal change application filed with the state water-rights office. The change application seeks to treat acquired Rocky Ford shares and previously acquired water rights as eligible for winter use under the county’s Class A water authorization (Class A 1870), replacing prior summer-storage-and-release requirements.

Staff said the change application was prepared with the state water-rights office’s materials and that advertising for the proposed change occurred; the transcript records that an objection/protest period ran with a deadline of Oct. 21. Staff told the commission they expected routine protests from nearby entities such as Beaver City and other adjacent water users and planned to follow normal protest-response procedures.

The county also received 15 acre-feet of water associated with a sale (noted in the meeting as being linked to Puffer Lake property) that staff included in the application. Staff said they will file a separate change application for additional historic orders tied to Kents Lake water.

No formal commission action was recorded; staff described the change application process and next steps for responding to any protests and filing follow-up documentation.