Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District studying C-BT return flows

From the Greeley Tribune (Bill Jackson):

[Luke Shawcross, a water resources engineer with Northern] is developing the model on how that water will be tracked, and if you think that’s complicated, you’re certainly right. The model is designed to catch return flow information from irrigated areas, delivery areas and municipal areas. Once that’s done, Shawcross will develop a flow chart to accurately track the water as it moves through the system.

A return flow is any water that returns to a river or to groundwater. And while C-BT return flows is property of the residents of the eight counties, rain fall runoff to rivers and streams is property of those rivers and streams, which just adds more complications. Andy Pineda, Northern’s water resources manager and Shawcross’ boss, said it’s estimated that return flow to rivers and groundwater from the C-BT could be as much as 100,000 acre-feet. “We need to quantify who got it and how it’s used. But, more importantly, we need to protect it and make sure it stays here,” Pineda said at Northern’s recent spring water users meeting.