After the auctioning of 90 shares of Colorado water rights in Boulder County on Wednesday, thoughts turned to the rising cost. Some of the rights — with associated fees — sold for more than $80,000.
“We thought it was a good time to maybe buy more to increase the volume of water we can irrigate our land with,” said farmer Don Martin, who was a buyer.
Water rights helped Colorado ranchers and farmers raise livestock and grow food through the years by channeling water from creeks and rivers to their property. Rights allow them to take a portion of the water and irrigate their land. Through the years, however, water rights have helped fuel growth on the Front Range.
“There’s ranches that sell their water rights, and they dry up their land. And then the city of Colorado Springs or Denver. Somebody uses that water for people’s drinking water and watering their lawns,” said former water commissioner Dave Kelley, who owns a ranch in Buena Vista.