Carryover and CCTP

Annual Carryover Program

Established in 1985, the Annual Carryover Program was implemented to carry over undelivered water in Northern Water storage facilities from one year to the next as a hedge against drought and low runoff. The carryover concept encourages Colorado-Big Thompson (C-BT) Project allottees to leave water in Project storage, freeing local reservoir storage space to capture additional native spring runoff. Carryover water is then available for direct beneficial use along with the subsequent year’s C-BT allotment.

The program provides C-BT allottees an opportunity to better manage and benefit from their C-BT Project water without adversely impacting: 

• C-BT Project operations and reliability
• The contractual rights of C-BT Project allottees
• The ancillary rights of Northern Water constituents

Carryover Capacity Transferability Program

The Carryover Capacity Transferability Program (CCTP) allows C-BT allottees to transfer a portion, or all, of their carryover capacity to another allottee, or, conversely, to acquire additional carryover capacity by leasing it from another allottee. Carryover capacity transferred throughout the water year will ultimately influence the amount of carryover water an account entity may project into the next water year. The CCTP incorporates additional flexibility into the Annual Carryover Program by allowing an account entity to either increase or decrease its capacity to carryover water from one year the next, and to market and transfer unneeded carryover capacity.