• Home
  • About
  • Water Rights
  • DOCUMENTS
  • Contact
  • MEETING NOTICES
"Water is the driving force of all nature" - Leonardo da Vinci

MIDDLE PARK WATER CONSERVANCY DISTRICT

About Us

Who We Are

Middle Park Water Conservancy District is a quasi-municipal corporation and a political subdivision of the State of Colorado serving Grand and Summit Counties. The District is administered by an appointed Board of Directors.

What We Do

Help protect water for all present & future users. Evaluate stream flow requirements for instream flow uses including recreation, dilution requirements and other purposes. Protect & expand West Slope water rights. Conserve & protect water resources within the District and on the West Slope. ​​

Board of Directors

  • Jack Buchheister (President)
  • Richard B. Doucette (Treasurer)
  • Sean Flanigan (Vice President)
  • Jim Lenzotti (Secretary)
  • Michael Eytel
  • Gary Bumgarner
  • Tom Long
Picture

​​


Board Meetings

​Regular meetings of the Board of Directors are held quarterly on the 2nd Wednesday of every third month beginning at 1:00 p.m. at the Kremmling Town Hall, 200 Eagle Ave, Kremmling, CO 80459. The Board holds at least one meeting per year in Summit County, including its January Board Meeting for most years.  A regular meeting may be rescheduled or its location may be changed, provided Board members are duly notified and notice is duly posted.


About Us

Colorado’s population in the last few decades has boomed. The state’s unique combination of business opportunities and natural splendor has proved—and continues to prove—irresistible to an increasingly mobile American and even international populous. By 2050 Colorado’s population is expected to double, particularly in the Front Range Urban Corridor between Fort Collins and Colorado Springs. But despite the population rise, the State’s natural water supply is limited.

​The Western Slope is relatively lush from snow-melt runoff. Still, thanks to modern engineering, that runoff has been one source of water supporting the Urban Corridor's substantial population. Nowadays, pipes convey water from Grand and Summit Counties, under the mountains, and to reservoirs along the Front Range. Incredibly, while most of Colorado’s natural water flows west of the Continental Divide, most of Colorado’s people live to the east.

The Middle Park Water Conservancy District from its beginning has helped balance the water needs of the Front Range with the Western Slope's right to enjoy its natural water supply and to support its own population growth. The Conservancy District was formed in 1950 in connection with the Colorado-Big Thompson Project and the Dillon Reservoir development, two large water projects that divert Western Slope water to the Front Range. 

Middle Park Water continues that mission today, working to increase water availability, to enhance stream flows, and to maintain water-based recreational opportunities for future generations in Grand and Summit Counties. The Conservancy District is able to acquire and hold water rights under Colorado’s Water Conservancy District Act, C.R.S. §§ 37-45-101, et seq., and has accumulated several over the years. The District is also a party to several important agreements governing water distribution in the Grand and Summit areas, including:


  • the 1980 Windy Gap Agreement and its 1985 Supplement,
  • the 2012 Intergovernmental Agreement, and
  • the Colorado River Cooperative Agreement of 2012.

The Conservancy District promotes water availability by leasing its water rights to those in need.​ For example, the District owns water rights in the Windy Gap project stored in Lake Granby and in the Wolford Mountain Reservoir, among others, and in turn provides augmentation water to several municipalities and small users in the area. In addition, the Conservancy District has provided replacement water that allowed for the Clinton Reservoir Agreement, which has made more water available in both Counties. 

​If you are interested in leasing water from us, see our Document Library for sample contracts and our application form. Please feel free to contact us with any questions.
​ ​






​

Middle Park Water Conservancy District
​middleparkwcd@gmail.com

Picture
  • Home
  • About
  • Water Rights
  • DOCUMENTS
  • Contact
  • MEETING NOTICES