State and federal water managers were on hand at a meeting last week in Hotchkiss to offer local water users insight on government programs available to help make irrigation system improvements. Kib Jacobson, left, of the Bureau of Reclamation in Salt lake City, Jim Currier, center. of the Colorado Conservation Board, and Mike Baker also of the Bureau of Reclamation spoke at an irrigation water users seminar hosted by the Delta Conservation District’s Education and Outreach Committee. Two more events in the series are scheduld for March 17 and 24 at Memorial Hall beginning at 6:30 p.m.

The Delta Conservation District wants irrigators, ditch companies, and water managers to know about the sweet deals available for cash to improve their water delivery systems.

 

The District on March 10 hosted the first of three seminars scheduled this month addressing irrigation topics in the Gunnison Watershed.

Some 130 people turned out for the event at Memorial Hall in Hotchkiss. In addition to hearing presentations by local, state and federal water management officials, they were treated to pie and coffee, compliments of the District.

Almost a dozen corporate sponsors for the three sessions have been lined up, and some were in attendance last Thursday to answer questions about their products and services.

The session included a panel discussion with Willie Kissler of the Minnesota Creek Ditch Company and Mark LeValley of the Grand View Ditch Company. They fielded questions and explained the processes they went through lining up government funding for improvements on their respective systems.

Charlie Guenther, who for 30 years has been a supervisor the private Grand Valley Irrigation Company in the Grand Junction area, explained details of the GVIC's four-year-long improvement project.

Another presentation was provided by Dave Kanzer, engineer with the Colorado River District in Glenwood Springs. He said that good progress is being made in the government's program to reduce salt and selenium loading in the Colorado River. The Gunnison River Basin is one of the major contributors, and perhaps the largest single contributor, to that problem.

Jim Currier of Grand Junction, who works with the Colorado State Conservation Board, gave an overview of the Basin States Salinity Program which provides funding for on-farm irrigation improvement projects. Irrigators using the program must have their system improvements designed to specifications approved by the local NRCS (Natural Resource Conservation Service), Currier explained.

And, a trio of Bureau of Reclamation officials from Grand Junction and Salt Lake City explained the BuRec's funding opportunities for salinity reduction projects.

Kib Jacobson, the agency's Basinwide Program manager, explained funding sources, various programs, qualification criteria, and the purpose of the BuRec's effort. He detailed the all-important Funding Opportunity Announcement process of applying for project money. Multiple federal agencies, including BuRec, USDA, BLM, and NRCS, are in the business of water improvement projects and offer various funding alternatives, he said.

Homemade pie, coffee, and talk about irrigation and water were the agenda at an event hosted by the Delta Conservation District on March 10.

Jacobson and Kanzer touched on a question that a lot of local water users have asked. What becomes of the water "saved and salvaged" by on-farm and system wide improvements.

Jacobson said that as far as BuRec is concerned, water rights are a state issue. Kanzer went into bit more detail with his explanation saying that, "Your water rights are linked to your consumptive use. Any saved water goes down stream to the next user."

The March 10 event was the first of three that will be hosted by the DCD's Education and Outreach Committee of the Board of Supervisors. The second is set for March 17 on the topics of revenue generating opportunities in micro-hydro projects.

The third and final session on March 24 will explore water rights and water use etiquette, and "Ag Vision."

All of the sessions begin at 6:30 at Memorial Hall in Hotchkiss.