Are you interested in knowing how much compensation you would receive if you choose to voluntarily retire your irrigation well? The Republican River Water Conservation District can help.

The RRWCD offers two water conservation programs to well owners throughout the Basin — CREP and EQIP.

You start by applying for an Environmental Quality Incentive Program contract through your local Natural Resources Conservation Service office. The NRCS offices in each county accept applications throughout the year, however program sign-up deadlines occur at various times, so watch for those announcements.

Next, you contact the RRWCD to start the application process for an EQIP Supplemental contract.

Currently anyone approved for an EQIP contract, has 12 months from the date of their contract with NRCS to permanently cancel their irrigation water right. Well owners are allowed to dryland farm or graze their formerly irrigated land.

The well owner can choose to downsize the well to a small capacity domestic/livestock water right or to have the well abandoned within the first year of the EQIP contract. No payments will be made by NRCS or the RRWCD until the irrigation water right has been cancelled and the well has been abandoned or downsized.

Well owners located inside the South Fork Focus Zone who choose to enter into EQIP will also receive significant additional funding from the RRWCD and a $200/irrigated acre signup incentive payment from the State of Colorado.

The RRWCD staff is meeting with producers throughout the basin to discuss the conservation programs being offered by the RRWCD and federal agencies. If you are interested in more information about these programs, contact your local NRCS office or the RRWCD office at (970) 332-3552 or the District’s cell phone at (970) 630-3525.