Water Supply Team Supervisor; Professional Engineer II

Overview

Division of Water Resources (DWR):
State Engineer's Office

Our mission is to administer the waters of the State to maximize lawful beneficial use, ensure that dams and water wells are properly constructed and safe, and provide information about water resources to the public.

The Water Supply work unit exists to serve the needs of the public and to conserve, protect, develop, and maximize the beneficial use of the State’s present and future water supplies by conducting the engineering studies and analyses needed to support the decisions of the State Engineer and the Division Engineers in administering water in the areas of issuing well permits, subdivision water supply plan reviews, water court resume reviews, water court case evaluations, negotiations and trials, substitute water supply plan evaluations, water administration, and public assistance.

This position exists to supervise and direct the work of Team 1A, and coordinate the team’s activities with personnel from the Division Engineer’s office in the South Platte River Basin. Responsibilities include performing the review and evaluation of well permit applications and supervising and performing engineering and legal evaluations of submittals of court applications, substitute water supply plans, requests to the Colorado Ground Water Commission, and subdivision water supply plans using Colorado Statutes, Rules and Regulations, Policies of the State Engineer, information on vested water rights, and geology of various parts of Colorado;

supervising and performing engineering investigations and directing special projects including water demand and consumptive use studies, change in water rights analyses, and determination of water use under Colorado s interstate compacts; representing the Division of Water Resources in settings that include informational meetings, water court case negotiations with outside engineering consultants and attorneys, and as an expert witness in water court cases and administrative hearings;

and providing the general public with information and data regarding wells, water rights, water diversions, and the water right priority system, by receiving and responding to phone calls and emails from the general public.

• Responsible for supervising and directing the work of team members on Team 1A.
• Reviews and evaluates requests for substitute water supply plans to address engineering analysis and legal issues, including review of existing reports and data, performing engineering calculations and hydrologic analyses, to ensure all aspects of the plan related to engineering, and administration are consistent with the Colorado Revised Statutes, existing rules and decrees, and case law.
• Review applications for determinations of water rights, replacement plans, and changes of water rights within the Designated Basins by evaluating ground water hydrology and performing engineering analyses of the amount of groundwater available for appropriation and determine if the replacement plans, and changes of water rights can operate without causing injury to other water rights.
• Reviews and evaluates applications to the water court in the monthly resume for adjudication of rights to surface water, ground water, plans for augmentation, changes of water rights, exchanges, and claims for diligence. Evaluations address both engineering analysis and legal issues.
• Performs engineering evaluations of water court cases for engineering, geologic, legal, and administrative correctness and participates in negotiations with attorneys, consulting engineers, and geologists of applicants for water rights on behalf of the Division of Water Resources.
• Analyze the proposed water supply for new subdivisions to determine adequacy of the water supply and the potential for injury to existing or decreed water rights or wells and provide comments to the Counties.
• Analyze other county referrals such as subdivision exemptions and special use permits to determine if there are any water supply issues to describe to the county in their consideration of the land use action.
• Conducts engineering, hydrologic, and geologic analysis and…