Greeley City Council approves $60,000 per year water lease agreement with Town of Windsor

By Kelly Ragan

The City of Greeley is set to bring in at least $60,000 more per year after revising a longstanding agreement on water with the Town of Windsor. 

An amendment to an existing agreement, approved by city council Tuesday, will make drought supply municipal water available to Windsor during dry times. It’s sort of like a rainy day fund, only the city has it in case it DOESN’T rain or snow. Get it? Let’s just move on. While Greeley still owns the rights, Windsor pays to rent those water rights to keep the city going if (and when) drought hits. 

Greeley and Windsor have worked together on water for decades. The two entered into an Intergovernmental Agreement back in 1996 when Greeley agreed to treat and deliver potable water drawn from Windsor’s own sources. 

In the event we do see times of shortage, Windsor will be able to access up to 350-acre feet of water per year. 

The agreement approved by city council Tuesday goes into effect in 2022, starting at $60,000. Windsor is set to pay regardless of whether it is a drought year. The annual payment will then tick up by 3% per year. 

Why does this matter? 

Greeley hasn’t had to use drought restrictions for almost 20 years. But city officials haven’t forgotten how dire things got in 2002, a drought year that climate experts agree was one of the worst in 300 years. 

According to the city, the shortage conditions that would need to kick in for Windsor to use the water happen about twice per decade – but climate change could mean those conditions would be met more often.