2 Colo. Code Regs. § 402-11-5

Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 1, January 10, 2025

Rule 2 CCR 402-11-5 - GENERAL RULES

5.1 Nature of Artificially Recharged Water- Water Artificially Recharged into a Denver Basin aquifer or Nontributary Groundwater Aquifer, whether for the maintenance of water levels or for subsequent Extraction shall be, at the time of Injection, fully consumable and/or reusable pursuant to decree, statute, or regulation, or shall have been, at the time of Injection, decreed for storage by means of Artificial Recharge in the Denver Basin aquifers or Nontributary Groundwater Aquifers, or shall be otherwise legally and physically available for storage by means of Artificial Recharge into the Denver Basin aquifers or Nontributary Groundwater Aquifers. Any augmentation or relinquishment requirements applicable to the water to be injected shall be met prior to or at the time of Injection unless otherwise provided for by decree.

5.2 Protection of Life. Health, and the Environment- All Extraction operations shall be conducted in a manner that will protect the life and health of the citizens of the State of Colorado, and cause no injury to existing users of, and rights to water from the Denver Basin aquifers and Nontributary Groundwater Aquifers and comply with all applicable federal, state, and local rules.

5.3 Knowledge of Rules- It shall be the responsibility of all persons contemplating the Extraction of Artificially Recharged Water to obtain information pertaining to the regulation of Artificially Recharged Water before beginning Extraction of that water. The owner shall be responsible for knowing and complying with applicable federal, state, and local statutes, and rules and regulations.

5.4 Entry upon Property- The State Engineer and any duly authorized representatives have the authority and duty to enter upon, and to order the well owner to permit the entry upon, private property at any reasonable time to inspect the various means or proposed means of Extraction; to observe well construction and plugging; to read or verify the accuracy of meters, gauges, and other measuring devices; and to inspect records.

5.5 Plugging- The owner of any Extraction Well, shall be liable and responsible for the plugging thereof in accordance with these rules and regulations, and the Water Well Construction Rules, 2 CCR 402-2 (September 1, 2016), within ninety-one (91) days of the expiration or cancellation of an Extraction Well permit, or in any shorter period when required by the State Engineer, unless the well may continue to operate pursuant to decree, or under another permit as other than an Extraction Well.

5.6 Well Identification- All wells constructed pursuant to these rules shall be marked by the owner in a conspicuous place with the owner's name, court case number (if applicable), permit number or numbers of the well, WDID³ (if applicable), aquifer, the well designation given by the owner (if used), and legal description of the location of the well. The owner shall take all necessary means and precautions to preserve and maintain these markings.

³ A WDID number represents the water district (WD) and the identification number (ID) assigned to a structure or water right within the water district.

5.7 Metering of Injection/Extraction- All wells used for the purposes of Artificial Recharge and/or Extraction shall be equipped with totalizing flow meters or alternate measurement methods that comply with standards and specifications adopted by the State Engineer.

5.7.1 The owner of an Injection and/or Extraction Well shall install and maintain totalizing flow meters or alternative measurement methods to measure the amount of all water Injected and Extracted in compliance with the Division of Water Resources Well Measurement Program Standard Version 1.4 (March 1, 2018). Meters are to be verified prior to the initiation of Injection and/or Extraction, and shall be reverified every four years thereafter.

5.7.2 Flow meters installed on existing wells which are authorized for the withdrawal of Naturally Occurring groundwater, shall be reverified to be in accurate working condition prior to the initiation of Injection and/or Extraction, and shall be reverified to be in accurate working condition every four years thereafter.

5.8 Data Format- The State Engineer may require that data submitted in support of an application to extract Artificially Recharged Water, or data required by Rule 9.6 and 9.7 be submitted in a format approved by the State Engineer. Such data, when compiled, shall be available to any interested party.

2 CCR 402-11-5

41 CR 11, June 10, 2018, effective 6/30/2018