Wellington trustees back staff to finalize 2026 water agreement with North Poudre

Wellington Town trustees on Jan. 27 reviewed a proposed 2026 water supply agreement with North Poudre Irrigation Company and a companion storage and carriage operations agreement that town staff said would stabilize costs and allow the town to pursue additional supplies.

Deputy Director of Public Works Megan Smith told the board the proposal would replace the market‑based pricing in a 1983 agreement with “a starting price of $1,200 an acre foot that is adjusted annually for inflation” and add a 40‑year termed contract through water year 2066 while preserving legacy water associated with prior share transfers. She said the package includes negotiated step‑down minimum payments in the first four years to provide revenue stability for NPIC and operational terms that let the town store town‑owned water and accept delivery of outside (“foreign”) water into Reservoir 3.

Smith said the prior market formula produced extreme swings — “rising from roughly $765 an acre foot in 2015, up to nearly $3,800 an acre foot in 2023” — that hindered long‑range planning and reserve growth. She said the town currently owns 75 NPIC shares and in 2025 first used the multiple‑use portion of those shares for drinking water production.

Trustees responded with broad support. Trustee Teets called the plan “a wonderful step for the town,” praising staff and urging follow‑up on a few technical questions. Trustee Daley described the item as “the single most important thing to the town of Wellington” and said the agreement improves predictability after “up to 500% increase in cost of water” under the old formula. Mayor Schoese thanked staff and said the terms support affordability, predictability and flexibility.

On operational detail, Smith said the town used a little over 802 acre‑feet from Reservoir 3 in 2025 and about 185 acre‑feet from town shares; the town’s groundwater wells can produce roughly 365 acre‑feet annually. She also said a shareholder vote in August 2025 produced an allocation approach that currently yields about 46.32% of the available yield to the town’s pro rata portion; an 18‑year yield analysis estimated a firm yield of over 3,000 acre‑feet for those rights.

Smith described a near‑term schedule: NPIC’s annual shareholder meeting was set for Feb. 2, a NPIC board meeting for Feb. 11, and remaining legal refinements would be worked out between town and NPIC lawyers with the goal of bringing finalized contracts to the board before March and defining terms before NPIC’s April allocation.

Town staff sought trustee feedback and direction to move ahead with finalizing agreements; trustees supported staff returning final contracts for board consideration. The board took no formal vote on the contract itself at the Jan. 27 meeting.

Next steps: staff will continue legal negotiations with NPIC counsel and prepare final agreements for a future board meeting; NPIC’s February shareholder and board meetings are milestones in that schedule.