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Greeley declares an 'adequate water year,' opts to rent limited CBT shares and emphasizes conservation messaging
Summary
After staff presentations on snowpack, storage and hydrologic scenarios, the board declared 2026 an adequate water year (no drought restrictions) and approved staff’s initial plan to rent a portion of CBT shares while committing to monitor conditions and communicate conservation messages.
The Greeley Water and Sewer Board voted to declare 2026 an adequate water year and approved staff’s approach to limited water rentals while emphasizing ongoing conservation and monitoring.
Water Resources staff (Leah) reviewed climate and hydrology indicators, SNOTEL concerns, storage at GLIC reservoirs and Colorado-Big Thompson (CBT) quota assumptions. Staff presented a planning spreadsheet projecting approximately 25,400 acre-feet of projected storage for 2027 under an assumed 80 percent CBT quota; staff said that amount is above the board’s drought-management trigger (about 21,300–21,500 acre-feet), and therefore drought restrictions were not recommended.
Leah explained staff’s rental plan to allocate roughly 4,200 acre-feet of CBT to agricultural users and 1,800 acre-feet to industrial users this year, with the caveat that once transferred the water cannot be reclaimed mid-season and staff would be conservative on initial rental volumes. “With that 4,200 acre feet of CBT, we would meet 17 people's request out of 73,” Leah said, explaining the staff’s calculation and rationale for renting rather than letting the shares “spill back into the system.”
Board members raised messaging concerns — noting dry conditions, low snowpack and the risk of public misperception — and asked staff to combine the adequate-year declaration with clear conservation messaging. Staff and the director (Sean) emphasized that the city’s diversified portfolio (CBT holdings, storage, Terry Ranch planning) places it in a more resilient position than many neighboring jurisdictions but agreed to more deliberate outreach.
The board moved, discussed and passed the staff recommendation to declare an adequate water year and to allow the limited rental program while directing staff to continue monitoring and report as conditions change.
The board asked staff to return with periodic updates and said it expects to reassess conditions if the hydrology or quota outlook changes.
