April 12, 2024

Northern Water increases C-BT quota to 70 percent

The Northern Water Board of Directors voted Thursday to increase its 2024 quota allocation for the Colorado-Big Thompson Project to 70 percent. Members voted 12-1 to increase the allocation from the 50 percent initial quota set in October.

Board members discussed the combination of this year’s above-average regional and local reservoir levels. A wet spring and early summer in 2023 reduced the demand for the 70 percent quota set in 2023. This year’s snowpack is trending near- and above-normal in many of the watersheds that contribute to the region’s water supply.

Luke Shawcross, manager of the Water Resources Department at Northern Water, outlined water modeling showing the predicted storage levels in the project through the end of 2024 and into 2025, and he also discussed the available water supplies in regional reservoirs. Water Resources Specialist Emily Carbone and Water Scheduling Department Assistant Manager Sarah Smith also provided Board members with current water supply within the project, availability data, along with a glimpse into both short-term and mid-term weather forecasts.

water rushing through Munroe Gravity Canal

Public input was also considered in the Board’s decision. At the Spring Water Symposium hosted by Northern Water on April 2, a plurality of respondents indicated a preference for a 70 percent quota.

The Board has been setting C-BT quota since 1957 and 70 percent is the most-common quota declared. It was also the quota set for the 2023 water delivery season. In 2022, the final quota was 80 percent. Quotas are expressed as a percentage of 310,000 acre-feet, the amount of water the C-BT Project was initially envisioned to deliver to project allottees each year. A 70 percent quota means that the Board is making 0.70 acre-feet of water available this year for each C-BT Project unit, or collectively, 217,000 acre-feet.

The quota increases available C-BT Project water supplies by 62,000 acre-feet from the initial 50 percent quota made available in November 2023. Water from the C-BT Project supplements other sources for 33 cities and towns, 120 agricultural irrigation companies, various industries and other water users within Northern Water’s 1.6 million-acre service area. According to recent census figures, more than 1 million residents now live inside Northern Water’s boundary. Visit our website to learn more about Northern Water and the C-BT quota.