ROCK SPRINGS - When it comes to water in the West, the abiding principal between the Colorado River compact states is pretty simple: use it or lose it.

Not store it or lose it.

Which means that the beneficiaries of new water storage projects in the basin will be the key to the development of those possible projects, Wyoming Water Development Commission (WWDC) officials said.

"We are trying to attract water users interested in participating in water storage projects," said WWDC executive director Mike Purcell said Wednesday night during a meeting in Rock Springs to discuss the ongoing studies on a variety of water storage possibilities in the Green River Basin.

"We need the people who will ultimately use that water to assist us in getting through all the (red tape)," said Purcell. "Only the water users can (decide if) the added responsibility and effort is really worth the whole exercise of dealing with storage development.

"We're trying to find that match between the water storage concept and the water users who will benefit. We haven't fallen upon the answer yet and we haven't found that golden nugget or that formula to attract irrigators and others for projects yet."

The Green River Basin in western Wyoming is one of the few areas left in Wyoming that has water to develop and the land needed to build dams and reservoirs.

State water officials believe more storage is needed, particularly for irrigators in the basin and for towns and communities - including Pinedale, Big Piney, Green River, Rock Springs, Kemmerer and Boulder - that are growing because of the region's natural gas boom.

The state has been searching for decades, however, to find just the right spot to build a dam across the Upper Green River, or to build dams and structures on sites along tributaries of the river.

Two reservoir sites identified in previous state water studies sit between the Warren and Kendall bridges in Sublette County north of Pinedale and about 60 miles south of Jackson.

The Upper Kendall and Lower Kendall sites lie in the foothills of the western slope of the Wind River Mountains.

WWDC officials have also identified three other sites - Sand Hill, McNish Wash and Church reservoir - that have the most potential for a dam and reservoir in the lower basin area.

But the most recent WWDC studies show it will take a lot of time, money and a hard-to-get federal construction permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to complete a large reservoir project such as the Kendall dam proposal.

Cost projections have run as high as $250 million or more for the Kendall dam project, which could provide irrigation water for about 71,000 acres. Each Kendall site would provide well in excess of 200,000 acre feet of water storage. An acre foot is the amount needed to cover one acre of land one foot deep, or about 325,851 gallons.

"Maybe the key now is to think smaller … say 15,000 acre feet to 5,000 acre feet projects," Purcell said.

"Our real goal is to throw out some ideas and solicit some ideas," he said. "But we're not really there on finding a real feasible storage facility project. Maybe we're still looking too big … we just don't know yet."

Compacts, treaties

Mike Besson, head of the WWDC's dams and reservoirs division, said Wyoming's "consumptive use" of Green River Basin water is limited by two water compacts and a treaty with Mexico.

Wyoming has rights to water in the Green River, but has not exercised them.

The state generates about 18 million acre feet of surface water each year.

Under the various interstate river compacts and court decrees, Wyoming is entitled to consume about 4 million of those acre feet.

Currently, the state uses about 2.8 million, leaving some 1.2 million acre feet of water available in areas such as the Green River Basin.

Besson agreed the key to new water development will be the beneficiaries who will use the additional water supplies.

"The people that want dams need to stand up and say, 'I'm willing to go through the work and the effort to get it done,'" he said. "We want to hear first from the people who will use this water. Everything depends on the people who will benefit from the projects."

Purcell said water project "sponsors" will have to come forward before any new storage proposal can move to the feasibility study level.

"There's also no way around (the fact) that they will need a water irrigation district to work with," he said.

Contact southwest Wyoming bureau reporter Jeff Gearino at (307) 875-5359 or gearino@tribcsp.com

Last we knew: Beginning in 1999, the Wyoming Water Development Commission established advisory groups for each of Wyoming's seven river basins, including the Green River Basin in western Wyoming.

The latest: Work is beginning on the next phase of the Green River Basin Plan, which will include an update incorporating new data from ongoing groundwater studies.

What's next: The updated plan is expected to be completed in the fall of 2009.]]>

In 1999, the Wyoming Water Development Commission began establishing advisory groups for each of the state's seven river basins as part of an overall effort to develop a new state water plan.

A final water plan for the Green River Basin was completed in 2001 by its advisory group.

While much of the plan focused on gathering data, the plan also concluded that there is water to develop in the basin and that water storage or other supplies that can be delivered on demand may offer potential revenue for the state.

Phil Ogle with the WWDC said the seven river basin plans were incorporated into a larger, statewide water framework plan that was completed in 2007. The framework plan emphasizes the gathering of groundwater data for the second round of basin plans.

Officials separated the Green River Basin plan update into two projects. One will gather groundwater data and the other will look at surface water.

He said the studies are expected to be completed in the fall of 2009 and should provide additional data for determining the most feasible water storage sites.

"This is very important for the Green River Basin because … we need to look and see if (the data shows) it's practical to do" any proposed water storage development project, Ogle said.]]>