HB 16-1256 Summary

• Authorizes a study of water storage possibilities in the South Platte River Basin from Greeley to Julesburg, Colorado, including potential new reservoirs, enlarged existing reservoirs, and alternative storage mechanisms.

• Study must evaluate water delivered to Nebraska over the previous 20 years in excess of South Platte River Compact requirements, and identify how much water could have been stored in the lower basin.

• For each potential storage site, study must include volume estimates, preliminary cost estimates (including permits and property acquisition), and cost-benefit analysis considering environmental, financial, legal, recreational, and water supply factors.

• Requires South Platte Basin and Metro Roundtables approval by September 30, 2016; study completion deadline is October 31, 2017; report due to legislature by December 31, 2017.

• Appropriates $211,168 from the Colorado Water Conservation Board Construction Fund for fiscal years 2016-17 and 2017-18; subsection expires July 1, 2018.