March 6, 2023 – Tasked with restoring the aquifer in the Upper Rio Grande Basin, the Rio Grande Water Conservation District has decided to pay people who permanently retire their groundwater wells $3,000 an acre-foot.
Last summer, Colorado Public Radio
Payments to farmers agreeing to retire their groundwater wells will come from money allocated by the state. The Rio Grande Water Conservation District’s goal is to permanently retire 40 to 50 productive irrigated circles in the San Luis Valley through the Groundwater Compact Compliance Fund to save 11,000-15,000 acre-feet of water every year from now on. According to Alamosa Citizen
Successful applicants will need to commit to regenerating their fields with native vegetation to cut down on dust.
The Colorado Division of Water Resources needs to approve the District’s plan (final draf
Image:
A view of the San Luis Creek watershed in the northern San Luis Valley in Saguache County, Colorado at Alder, Colorado. The creek, choked by heavy vegetation, flows from left to right in the picture where the green trees are. The mountains in the background are the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Photo taken July 2020 by Jeffrey Beall. Via Wikimedia Commons
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