Grand Valley Water Users Association

– Water Restrictions will be in place for ALL properties. Water delivery will be limited to 1 ½ CFS per forty acers.

– Every Property in Every Ride will be Restricted.

– Please contact your ditch rider for specific information on water delivery in your area.

WATER SHORTAGES FOR IRRIGATION SEASON 2026—UPATED JUNE 5, 2026

– We were fortunate to see another ‘peak’ at Cameo in May at approximately 3300 cfs

– Thanks to strict management of the Roller Dam diversion, water restrictions by OMID and GVWUA, we were able to lower the flow target at Cameo from 1950 to 1650. This allowed Green Mountain to stay in priority enabling us to capture a lot of water from those two large May storms that dumped a lot of rain and snow in high elevations. With that work, we were able to bring our HUP from the original dire collection of 5500 AF of the 66000 AF pool up to 23965 as of Wednesday, June 3^rd. We have hopes of getting close to the 30000 AF by the time all the run-off is exhausted. Utilizing restrictions, this will help stretch our water season later into the year than originally anticipated.

– The River District was approved for an emergency water substitution supply plan. Utilizing water they hold in numerous reservoirs, they will be augmenting HUP beneficiaries upstream from Cameo, including all municipal water providers, to assure the HUP is able to account for those depletions. They will be using some of that water to offset Silt’s pool that also didn’t fill in Green Mountain and the remainder—which is the lion’s share—will be used to help support the Grand Valley irrigators in hopes of extending the season.

– Perennial crops—the trees and vines—are a priority for the hot months of July, August and early September. Assuring the survival of those crops is of paramount importance to all irrigators.

– Row crop farmers can plan on cooler later season moisture to bump river flows to more sustainable levels. To help assist our growers of winter wheat and forage crops/hay, GVWUA will be pushing our irrigation season into November to improve crop viability, shore up soil moisture, and set our growers up for a better harvest. Please note the season extension will be dictated by Mother Nature. When the temps drop too low, we will have to winterize to keep vital infrastructure from freezing.

– Grand Valley Water Users Association cannot police water usage. Our water rights do not allow it. We ask that all users be responsible and courteous with their usage.

– Please call your ditch rider for questions on current restrictions, water availability, or water orders.

– The office is available to answer questions about your bill, property transfers, or other matters not related to water delivery.

– If you have additional questions or concerns, my inbox is always available. Please email me at tbergonzini@gvwua.com and I will respond as quickly as possible.

We appreciate the teamwork we have already witnessed within the community and the respect you’ve shown your ditchriders and the staff as they navigate this very challenging years.

Bring on the monsoons!

Tina Bergonzini
~ General Manager

*The Grand Valley Water Users Association stands firmly with our commissioner and our water users.*

The Colorado River is governed by law. By the 1922 Compact. By federal statutes and operating guidelines layered over more than a century. It is governed by infrastructure built to store, move, and deliver water across seven states under an agreed framework of rights and responsibilities that distributes water, risk and economic security.

That framework matters. The Colorado River Compact was not a suggestion; it is an executed contract. It divided the basin into Upper and Lower divisions and promised each an equitable apportionment of use. That agreement enabled the massive public works system that transformed the American Southwest, allowing cities to rise and irrigated agriculture to flourish and the Grand Valley to grow into the thriving community it is today. The legal foundation of this system is not who is largest or most politically influential, the foundation is a contract that allows each basin to develop its share of water as it sees fit.

This week, the Lower Basin governors released a joint statement regarding failure to reach a seven-state agreement by a February 14th deadline. Their statement emphasized the scale of their populations, economies, and agricultural output. But Compact apportions water equitably between geographic regions, not based on population, economic scale, or political influence. The Lower Basin’s statements seem to make an assumption that mismanaging this vital resource has somehow made them entitled to more of that same resource from Colorado while we have coveted, protected, and managed our water appropriately.

It was Colorado that first proposed the 1922 Compact, recognizing that only a binding agreement would allow our economies, our farms and our cities to prosper. And it is Colorado that finds itself defending that same agreement as the lower Basin governors call for “shared contribution” from all seven states.

When the Lower Basin states call for collaboration and shared contribution, they are asking Colorado to move beyond the Compact’s allocation framework, to absorb economic risk and uncertainty that would constrain our ability to farm, to grow our economies, and to use the water apportioned to the Upper Basin, of which only 60 percent has been developed.

Fortunately, Colorado’s lead negotiator is the bulldog we need in this moment. Becky Mitchell understands what is at stake and has refused, under pressure from environmental groups, from other states, and even from a few within Colorado, to acquiesce to demands that will injure Colorado and the Grand Valley.

GVWUA has participated in past pilot projects exploring voluntary, temporary and compensated conservation and been willing participants in numerous water-saving endeavors. The determined and nimble producers in the Grand Valley understand the importance of conservation, living within what the river provides, and they acknowledge a drier and hotter climate will bring changes to their operations and to our communities. However, the Lower Basin states need to recognize these hydrologic realities and make the changes necessary to correct the system they have failed through chronic and continued overuse. GVWUA will not ask our producers to bear the burden of Lower Basin mismanagement and their continued denial of the realities in front of them.

When we are confident that true conservation efforts are being discussed; programs that support not only the Lower Basin producers, but the Upper Basin’s users as well, we will be ready to support our commissioner and be part of the real work of supporting our neighboring Lower Basin states while they fix what they have broken.

Samantha Barncastle was recently featured on the Fill Your Plate Now podcast to discuss the critical role water plays in sustaining agriculture across the West.

Drawing on more than 17 years in water law and her background as part of a multigenerational farming family, Sam explains why Western irrigated agriculture produces a significant share of the nation’s fruits, vegetables, nuts, and dairy – and why reliable water delivery is essential to keeping that system functioning.

The conversation highlights the growing challenges facing farmers and ranchers, including aging infrastructure, regulatory delays, litigation pressures, and broader economic headwinds. At the same time, it points to opportunities through innovation, from precision irrigation to new crop development and collaborative solutions.

This episode offers a clear look at how water policy connects directly to food security, rural economies, and the long-term resilience of communities across the 17 Western states.

Why the West’s Irrigated Farms Are Critical to America’s Food Security, Episode 62 – YouTube

Zebra Mussels and the Government Highline Canal

As we respond to this new threat, we appreciate our water user’s diligence and willingness to keep an eye out for anything that appears suspect to them. Zebra mussels can cause extensive and expensive damage to our system unlike anything we’ve deal with before.

The picture taken on the paper towel are of native Corbicula clams not zebra mussels. The picture of the mussel on the person’s hand are zebra mussels and the pest we need you to watch for!

We would rather you send us pictures of native, non-harmful species and risk being wrong then send no pictures at all!

Never hesitate to reach out to our office staff at info@gvwua.com or your ditch rider with questions or concerns.