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Frederick sets preliminary 2026 water allowance at 0 CBT units, to be revisited in April
Summary
Town staff recommended a conservative 0 CBT preliminary water allowance for 2026 citing a dry winter and uncertain Northern Water quotas; trustees approved the resolution and directed staff to reanalyze conditions in April and return with recommendations in May if water becomes available.
Kylie, a town staff member presenting the 2026 water reservation and allocation policy, told the Board of Trustees that staff recommend a preliminary water allowance of 0 Colorado-Big-Thompson (CBT) units for 2026.
Kylie said the recommendation reflects a dry winter (January precipitation at about 55 percent of median) and uncertainty in Northern Water's quotas. She reviewed the policy background: the town established a water allowance of 154 CBT units for 2025, of which 0.73 units were actually used under the policy. Staff said they will perform an additional analysis in April after seeing how winter conditions evolve and the April Northern Water quota is set, and that the board will be presented with a May recommendation if water becomes available.
"Under current conditions staff is recommending we be pretty conservative with our water supply analysis," Kylie said in the presentation.
Trustee March moved to adopt Resolution 26R-05 (2026 water allowance and reservation policy updates); the motion was seconded and passed 4–0. The resolution adopts the preliminary 0 CBT units allowance and directs staff to return with updated analysis in April and, if appropriate, a May recommendation to change the allowance.
The board did not adopt changes to the policy language at this meeting; staff said they may recommend moving the annual policy review and allowance determination from January to May if the April analysis indicates better timing for the decision.
The action sets planning expectations for developers and staff while preserving flexibility pending hydrological and quota updates.
