U.S. Water News Online
CHEYENNE, Wyo. -- The Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities has agreed to sell 5,700 acre feet of excess water to the state if the city has adequate supplies to cover its owns needs.
"This is water that stays in Wyoming," said Mike Besson, director of the Wyoming Water Development Office. "It will be used in Wyoming by irrigators."
Besson said as the state continues to come out of a prolonged drought, there is more water available for these sales.
While Cheyenne is still operating under some permanent water conservation measures imposed in response to the drought, the city isn't really giving up usable water.
The city has water rights on the western slope of the Sierra Madre Mountains near Encampment, about 100 miles west of Cheyenne, but the water can't currently be piped directly to the city.
Instead, the city draws from reservoirs located between Cheyenne and Laramie.
Under an agreement with the state in the 1980s, the state provided $65 million in grants to enlarge two reservoirs that hold Cheyenne's water in exchange for the state being first in line for any excess water.
The pending spring runoff will determine whether the sale will go through.
The five reservoirs that supply Cheyenne must be at 72 percent of capacity or more in order for the full 5,700 acre feet to be sold. If the reservoirs are no lower than 60 percent full, the board could provide up to 3,150 acre-feet of water.
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