Upper Gunnison River Water

What Upper Gunnison River Water does

The Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District (UGRWCD) is a Colorado special tax district established in 1959 by voter approval under Colorado Revised Statute Title 37 to manage water resources in the Upper Gunnison River Basin. Headquartered at 210 West Spencer, Suite A, Gunnison, Colorado, the district administers water rights, delivers augmentation water to junior appropriators, and operates reservoir infrastructure including Taylor Reservoir and the Aspinall Operations. Its service area is strictly limited to the Upper Gunnison River Basin.

UGRWCD's core offerings include augmentation water programs, watershed management planning, water quality and quantity monitoring, drought contingency planning, and a Wet Meadows restoration program. The district runs a grant funding program that has awarded approximately $2.4 million over 15 years, leveraging $12.1 million in matching funds from partners, and supports community education through events such as the Gunnison River Festival and Fourth Grade Water Festival. It collaborates with the Bureau of Reclamation, Colorado Parks & Wildlife, Colorado Water Conservation Board, Trout Unlimited, and the Gunnison Basin Roundtable, among others.

As a government entity, UGRWCD is funded primarily by property tax revenues collected from constituents within its service area rather than commercial pricing. It maintains a small staff of approximately seven employees — one full-time, one part-time, and two temporary/seasonal since 2019 — and recently expanded operational capacity through the May 2023 acquisition of a facility at the Spencer Avenue Business Park and formation of the Lake San Cristobal Water Activity Enterprise joint venture.

Name

Upper Gunnison River Water

Legal name

Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District

Website

https://ugrwcd.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1959

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District is a Colorado special tax district established in 1959 to administer water rights, deliver augmentation water, and manage reservoir operations for junior appropriators, agricultural users, and municipalities within the Upper Gunnison River Basin.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Water Resource Management Services

NAICS

Administration of Air and Water Resource and Solid Waste Management Programs (92411), Water Supply and Irrigation Systems (22131), Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (9241)

SIC

Water Supply (4941)

akta.pro primary industry

Water Resources Administration (Watersheds, Rivers, Groundwater) (BPAIAMAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Water Supply & Wastewater Utilities Administration (BPAIACAG), Watershed Protection & Water Quality Services (AFAMAMAB)

Keywords

• Water resource management
• Watershed management planning
• Augmentation water services
• Reservoir operations management
• Water rights administration

Headquarters

HQ city

Gunnison

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Property Tax Revenues: UGRWCD is a special tax district with funding from property tax revenues. Established in 1959 by a vote of area taxpayers.
2. Grant Program: The District operates a grant funding program that has awarded $2.4 million in funds over 15 years, leveraging $12.1 million in matching funds with total project costs of $14.6 million. Grant funding comes from the District's budget allocation.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District is a Colorado special tax district that administers water rights and provides water resource management services in the Upper Gunnison River Basin. Its core offerings include augmentation water programs that allow junior water rights holders to continue diverting water during senior right calls, watershed management planning, reservoir operations coordination (Taylor Reservoir and Aspinall Unit), grant funding for water improvement projects, water quality monitoring, Wet Meadows ecosystem restoration, and drought contingency planning.

Product overview

Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District (UGRWCD) operates as a government water management organization established in 1959, offering a portfolio of interconnected programs and services focused on water resource management in the Upper Gunnison River Basin. The core offerings include Watershed Management Planning (with Phase I assessment and Phase II strategies), Augmentation Water programs, Water Supply initiatives, Grant Funding (including a Mini Grants education program), Reservoir Operations (Taylor and Aspinall), Wet Meadows Restoration, Water Monitoring, and Drought Contingency Planning. The District also runs community programs including the Gunnison River Festival and Fourth Grade Water Festival. These programs work together to protect water rights, support water users, restore ecosystems, and educate the community on water conservation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Augmentation Water Court-approved plans that allow water users to divert water out of priority by providing adequate replacement to affected stream systems. Sold to junior water rights holders in the Upper Gunnison Basin.
• Watershed Management Planning Multi-faceted planning program that helps protect existing water uses and watershed health in the Upper Gunnison Basin, including Phase I assessment and Phase II management planning.
• Water Supply Programs Programs and initiatives focused on securing and managing water supply for the Upper Gunnison Basin.
• Grant Funding Program Grant program providing funds to address water issues facing basin water users, including drought resiliency projects. Since 2009, has awarded $2.4 million in funds leveraging $12.1 million in matching funds.
• Reservoir Operations Management of Taylor Reservoir Operations and Aspinall Operations including Taylor Local Users Group (TLUG) coordination.
• Wet Meadows Program Restoration program building low-tech process-based restoration structures to improve watershed health and wetland ecosystems.
• Water Monitoring Water quality and quantity monitoring programs throughout the Upper Gunnison Basin.
• Drought Contingency Planning Planning and response programs for drought conditions in the Upper Gunnison Basin.
• Aspinall Augmentation Augmentation program for the Aspinall area with third-party agreements, replacement water tables, and consumptive use worksheets.

Quantifiable outcome

• Grant program has leveraged $12.1 million in matching funds from $2.4 million in District funds over 15 years
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Colorado Water Conservation BoardcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2015State agency that developed the Colorado Water Plan. CWCB holds instream flow water rights and works with UGRWCD on demand management and watershed protection programs.
• Backcountry Hunters & AnglerscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Wet Meadows Program restoration work and Sportsperson Volunteer Days. Collaborated on building low-tech process-based restoration structures at Centennial State Wildlife Area.
• Colorado Parks & WildlifecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborates on Wet Meadows restoration projects, Sportsperson Volunteer Days, and fishery protection. CPW requested instream flow releases during drought conditions to protect the Lake Fork fishery.
• Gunnison Basin RoundtablecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative basin planning body that develops water plans for the Gunnison Basin as part of Colorado's statewide water planning process initiated in 2013.
• U.S. Bureau of ReclamationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederal agency that manages Taylor Park Reservoir and Aspinall Unit (Blue Mesa Reservoir). UGRWCD has long-term water service contracts with BOR for augmentation water supply.
• Trout UnlimitedmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner on irrigation improvement projects including the Gunnison Tomichi Valley Ditch project and various water efficiency initiatives throughout the basin.
• J W Associates Inc.minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConsulting firm that conducted the 2023 Wildfire Watershed Hazard Assessment and Zones of Concern assessment for the Upper Gunnison River Basin.
• Gunnison Ranchland Conservation LegacymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerConservation organization that works on conservation easements protecting ranchland and water resources. Board member Stacy McPhail serves as Executive Director.
• PACT OutdoorsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal business that sponsors lunch for Sportsperson Volunteer Day events and assists with Wet Meadows restoration builds.
• Colorado River Water Conservation DistrictcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-hosts State of the River events and collaborates on regional water management issues affecting the Colorado River Basin.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Colorado River Water Conservation District: Colorado special district that manages and protects water resources across the Colorado River headwaters; already a listed UGRWCD partner for State of the River events and a directly comparable conservancy district operating under the same Colorado Water Conservancy District Act framework.
• Southwestern Water Conservation District: Colorado conservancy district covering the San Juan/Dolores river basins with property-tax funding, augmentation programs, and water rights administration — structurally and operationally analogous to UGRWCD.
• Rio Grande Water Conservation District: Colorado conservancy district administering water rights, augmentation, and groundwater management in the Rio Grande basin; operates a similar tax-funded model serving agricultural and municipal users.

Regional players

• Eagle River Water & Sanitation District: Colorado special district providing water supply, wastewater, and watershed services in Eagle County; comparable governmental water utility model serving a similar mountain-basin community.

Emerging players

• San Miguel Watershed Coalition: Regional watershed group in western Colorado focused on watershed health, monitoring, and restoration — overlapping with UGRWCD's Wet Meadows and water monitoring programs but without the formal conservancy district authority.

Others

• Trout Unlimited (Gunnison Office): Conservation NGO partner of UGRWCD on irrigation efficiency and fishery protection projects; comparable in adjacent ecosystem-restoration and water-stewardship activities but operates as a nonprofit rather than a public district.
• Gunnison Ranchland Conservation Legacy: Local conservation organization with overlapping board representation (Vice President Stacy McPhail); works on ranchland conservation easements protecting water resources in the same basin UGRWCD serves.

Broad incumbents

• Colorado Water Conservation Board: State agency that administers the Colorado Water Plan and holds instream flow water rights; a key UGRWCD partner and the broader statewide counterpart governing water resources policy that district-level entities like UGRWCD operate within.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/UGRWCD
• Instagraminstagram.com/ugrwcd
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/upper-gunnison-river-water

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Upper Gunnison River Water