By Deb Daniel
RRWCD General Manager
The Republican River Water Conservation District (RRWCD) Board of Directors will convene for their quarterly meeting on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, at 10 a.m. The meeting will be held in the Wray Elks Lodge #2409 located at 36355 US-385, Wray, Colorado, 80758.
The Board will acknowledge reappointed representatives and will present resolutions to board members who have completed their appointments. New appointees will be sworn in at the beginning of the meeting.
The Board will potentially approve minutes from the August 19, 2025 quarterly meeting and executive session minutes, and the September 16, 2025 special meeting minutes.
Administrative reports include updates from the Board President and the General Manager, as well as a review of the district’s financial standing for the third quarter of 2025. There will be an update on the irrigated acres retired in the South Fork Focus Zone and podcast report. Tracy Travis, the pipeline operator, will also provide a report on the operational status of the Compact Compliance Pipeline.
The Board will hold a hearing on the 2026 draft Budget beginning at 10:30 a.m. Aaron Sprague, Board Treasurer and Justin Dodsworth, District accountant will present the draft 2026 Budget. At the end of the presentation, the Board will receive any public comments on the proposed budget. Following this public comment period, the hearing will close and the Board will vote on the 2026 Budget during the afternoon session.
The Board will receive updates from various Board committees and associated organizations. Reports will be given by the RRWCD’s water engineer, state and federal lobbyists, and the District’s legal counsel.
A public comment session is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.
State Engineer Jason Ullmann will present on water issues across Colorado, and Republican River Basin Team Lead Commissioner Chris Kucera will deliver a report from his office.
State legislators in attendance will be invited to address the Board during the afternoon session. Additionally, local staff of federal legislators will be asked to provide updates.
Bill Hahn, from Hahn Water Resources and Randy and Ayrton Hendrix from Hendrix Wai Engineering, Inc will give a presentation on the Compact Compliance Pipeline Cost-Benefit Analysis.
CSU Professor Jordan Suter, UTK Professor Dale Manning and Karen Schlatter, Director of the Colorado Water Center will present the Economic Impact Study that will be presented to the Colorado legislature during the upcoming session.
During the Board Discussion and Action Items, the Board will vote on RAMP evaluations– and will discuss offering upfront payments for RAMP contracts. The Board will vote on the Sandhills GWMD Retained Jurisdictional Authority final report and on the response to a letter received from Central Yuma GWMD, W-Y GWMD, Arikaree GWMD and Yuma County Commissioners. The Board will also vote on the response to a letter received from CAPA.
The Board will vote on an application to change surface water rights to instream flow in the North Fork Republican River and vote on applying to change the use of wells purchased for compact compliance. The Board will vote on a recommendation from PTAC for a groundwater consultant to work on the compact compliance pipeline project.
There will be a vote taken on the recommendations from Fee Evaluation Committee regarding a change to the RRWCD Water Use Fee and on a possible change to RRWCD Bylaws to require a two-third majority vote for any change to the RRWCD Water Use Fee.
The Board will vote on to transfer funds in FY25, to adopt the Budget for 2026, to appropriate funds for 2026 and for Approval of Certification of Special Water Use Fee Assessment in Yuma County. There will be a vote to identify the location of public notice of Board and Committee meetings, to allow RRWCD to have a special Board meeting outside the Basin on January 8-9, 2026. At the end of the Action Items, the Board will have the election of officers.
The RRWCD Board of Directors will hold an executive session to receive legal counsel on water rights, discuss strategies and instruct negotiators regarding water right purchases or leases and water supply acquisition, receive legal advice on related agreements, contracts, and easements, and discuss program applications related to the Compact Compliance Pipeline, Bonny Reservoir, and personnel matters.
All RRWCD meetings are open to the public. Individuals wishing to participate via Zoom can find a link on the RRWCD website at www.repubicanriver.com.
For further details about this meeting, please contact the RRWCD staff at 970-332-3552 or Deb Daniel, RRWCD general manager, at 970-630-3525.