Platte Valley Water Partnership Clears Major Water Court Hurdle

A $1.1 billion reservoir and pipeline project designed to thread water between northeastern Colorado farms and the fast-growing southern Denver metro area has cleared a pivotal legal hurdle in water court, watereducationcolorado.org reported.

The Platte Valley Water Partnership, which officially launched in 2021, unites the Lower South Platte Water Conservancy District in Sterling alongside the cities of Parker and Castle Rock. Colorado requires all major water projects to navigate specialized water courts. This scrutiny gives competing water right holders a chance to pick apart proposed deals before any dirt gets moved. The court’s approval opens the door for project leaders to chase formal permits and kick off construction, according to Ron Redd, general manager of the Parker Water and Sanitation District.

The partnership plans to construct a 125-mile pipeline, a new plains reservoir, and diversion structures. These assets will serve farms and small towns along the Lower South Platte River while supplying suburban growth down south. The financial burden splits unevenly across the user base. Parker is shouldering 52% of the cost, the Lower South Platte district covers 27%, and Castle Rock is footing 20%, Redd noted.

Shielding Farmland from the “Buy and Dry” Cycle

For decades, thirsty Front Range suburbs solved their supply crunches by purchasing Eastern Plains farms and transferring the irrigation water north, a practice known locally as “buy and dry.” The National Agricultural Statistics Service reports that Colorado has shed more than 30% of its irrigated agricultural land over the past thirty years. The Lower Arkansas River Valley bore the brunt of these transfers as cities like Aurora and Colorado Springs bought thousands of acres.

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Advocates of the Platte Valley project insist this venture operates differently. They argue it shares dwindling supplies without permanently retiring agricultural acreage.

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“It’s not buy and dry. It’s a different method,” said Gene Manuello, a long-time rancher and feed lot operator who sits on the board of the Lower South Platte Water Conservancy District. “The need for water up here isn’t nearly as big as the need to protect against buy and dry.”

Strict rules written into the deal ban any water obtained by taking farm fields out of production from ever entering the pipeline or storage reservoirs. Redd emphasized that the partnership did not buy farmland to dry it out, nor will it permit anyone else to do so.

How the New Water Right Operates

Securing water court approval grants the partnership a brand-new 2019 water right. Under this junior priority, the system cannot divert water during normal or dry years. Instead, it captures massive volumes only during heavy rainstorms and extreme floods—similar to the catastrophic weather events that hit the region in 2013 and 2023.

Platte Valley Water Partnership Clears Major Water Court Hurdle

Engineers estimate this junior right will yield nearly 22,000 acre-feet of water for agricultural communities, with an equal 22,000 acre-feet designated for urban users. One acre-foot roughly equals 326,000 gallons, providing enough liquid for two to three households annually. Redd explained that the first phase focuses on building a diversion structure and pipeline to deliver water to farmers within the next five to seven years. Delivering water to the urban partners will take significantly longer, with completion targeted for 2040.

Balancing Costs and Facing Interstate Legal Battles

A major challenge lies in keeping water affordable for farmers, who typically pay significantly lower rates than municipal customers. Joe Frank, manager of the Lower South Platte Water Conservancy District, said cost-sharing structures are still under development.

Castle Rock joins Colorado's Platte Valley Water Partnership

“We don’t know what it looks like yet,” Frank said. “But we’re looking at sharing costs based on the economic benefits of the project. Our users might get 50% of the water, but they won’t pay 50% of the costs. We’re looking at grant funding to help with our side of this. And we might go to a vote of the people to secure bonding authority. It has to be affordable.”

Meanwhile, the project advances while Colorado and Nebraska are locked in a U.S. Supreme Court dispute. Nebraska argues that Colorado is overusing its share of the South Platte River—an allegation Colorado denies. Nebraska officials have floated building the Perkins Canal in northeastern Colorado to capture water they claim is owed under the 1923 South Platte River Compact. Platte Valley leaders maintain their project operates entirely within the legal bounds of that compact and state water law.

“This is not Nebraska’s water,” Redd said.