Overview 

If LTWD determines it has sufficient water supplies for its customers that water year, LTWD may lease surplus raw water. Leasing allows individuals, developers/construction companies, and irrigation companies to lease water from LTWD supplies for use during the current water year. 

Lessees will be responsible for making all necessary arrangements for water delivery to the desired location. These arrangements may include but are not limited to, additional agreements, costs, and water carriage losses borne by the customer. 

Types of Leases 

C-BT 

Process 

• Lease requests open at midnight on January 1st and are processed on a first-come, first-served basis. Those who email before application requests are open will be required to re-submit requests to get a formal spot in line. Lease requests do not have a closing date. 
• Applicants can submit a lease request via email to waterteam@ltwd.org or phone call to (970) 344-6371 including the following information:
  • Contact phone number and/or email address 
  • Amount of lease water requested in acre-feet 
  • Delivery ditch and any relevant information for delivery (headgate number, etc.) if applicable. 
  • Intended use of water (Agricultural Irrigation or Non-agricultural) 
• LTWD staff will determine water availability based on supplies and obligations as outlined in the Rules and Regulations. 
• When water becomes available as the season progresses, LTWD will contact participants in the same order established from the initial lease request. Depending on the amount available, LTWD may, at the discretion of the district, only be able to fill in partial orders to allow more rentals to occur. 
• Once an interested party confirms they are interested in the amount of rental water available, a contract will be issued detailing the amount of water leased, price per acre-foot, and total cost to the lessee. 
• Transfers will be made through Northern Water’s online system where appropriate. 
• Rental water is generally transferred, after approval, within 48 hours of receiving all necessary materials. 
• LTWD will hold rental requests for 14 days but LTWD reserves the right to work with leasees. 

Native Supply 

Native Sources 

• Consolidated Home Supply 
• Handy Ditch 
• Supply Ditch 
• Highland Ditch 
• Big Thompson Ditch & Manufacturing 
• Boulder & Larimer Ditch Company (Old Ish) 
• Harry Lateral Ditch 
• Dry Creek Lateral 
• Christian-Connors Lateral 

Process 

• All necessary materials need to be submitted by May 1 of each year. 
• Current leasers have the right of first refusal. 
• Leasers must fill out a water use form and rental contract. 

Terms and Conditions 

All requests for water leases must be made in writing to our Water Resources Division. These requests are reviewed and approved on a case-by-case basis. Approval is at LTWD’s sole discretion. 

If you are an organization, LTWD must have a Statement of Authority (SOA) on file for your organization. If we do not have one, we will send a request for you to fill out. 

Rates

2026 Rates

 *If taking delivery through Dry Creek Lateral, Christian-Connors Lateral, or Harry Lateral, lateral assessments will be included in rental price. 

*LTWD passes through assessments and they are subject to change. It is possible that these rates have changed since the last update. 

All leases will have an additional 10% administration fee.