A new Colorado law requires water users that buy water tied to farms in the Arkansas Valley to revegetate land before using water elsewhere.  For decades, cities along the Front Range have expanded municipal water supplies by acquiring water rights historically used for agriculture. In the Arkansas Valley, more than 100,000 acres of irrigated farmland have been permanently dried up, often to supply water to cities such as Pueblo, Colorado Springs and Aurora. … Revegetation involves restoring native plant cover to the land to reduce erosion, maintain soil moisture and manage noxious weeds. … Aurora Water would not like to see the law expand to other parts of Colorado. “We would have concerns with any future expansion of this type of legislation into other regions of the state as it could unintentionally harm existing dry land farming operations,” [Spokesperson Shonnie] Cline said.

Other water transfer news around the West:

• Daily Independent (Sun City, Ariz.): Peoria, Cave Creek exploring possible water deal