(1) The district, in its corporate capacity, shall have power to: (a) Sue and be sued in the name of the Rio Grande water conservation district and otherwise to participate in litigation; (b) Acquire, operate, and hold in the name of the district such real and personal property as may be necessary to carry out the provisions of this article and to sell and convey such property or its products as provided in this article or when said property is no longer needed for the purposes of said district; (c) Borrow money and incur indebtedness and to issue bonds or other evidence of such indebtedness; except that the district may not incur any indebtedness in an aggregate amount exceeding the product of the valuation for assessment of the district multiplied by two mills; (d) Make surveys and conduct investigations to determine the best manner of utilizing streamflows within the district and the amount of such streamflow or other water supply, and to locate ditches, irrigation works, and reservoirs to store or utilize water for irrigation, mining, manufacturing, or other purposes, and to make filings upon said water and initiate appropriations for the use and benefit of the ultimate appropriators, and to do and perform all acts and things necessary or advisable to secure and insure an adequate supply of water, present and future, for irrigation, mining, manufacturing, and domestic purposes within said district; (e) Make contracts with respect to the relative rights of said district under its claims and filings and the rights of any other person, association, or organization seeking to divert water from any of the streams within said district; (f) Contract with any agencies, officers, bureaus, and departments of the state of Colorado and the United States, including the department of corrections, to obtain services or labor for the initiation or construction of irrigation works, canals, reservoirs, power plants, or retaining ponds within said district; (g) Enter upon any privately-owned land or other real property for the purpose of making surveys or obtaining other information, without obtaining any order so to do, if the same can be done without damage to the lands, crops, or improvements thereon; (h) Contract with the United States government, the bureau of reclamation, or other agencies of the United States government for the construction of any works; (i) Have and exercise the power of eminent domain to acquire ditches, reservoirs, or other works or lands or rights-of-way therefor which the district or a subdistrict thereof may need to carry out the plans of said district or subdistrict and in general to exercise any and all rights and powers of eminent domain conferred upon other agencies, as provided in articles 1 to 7 of title 38, C.R.S.; (j) File upon and hold for the use of the public sufficient water of any natural stream to maintain a constant streamflow in the amount necessary to preserve fish, and to use such water in connection with retaining ponds for the propagation of fish for the benefit of the public; (k) Exercise such implied powers and perform such other acts as may be necessary to carry out and effect any of the express powers hereby conferred upon such district; (l) Participate in the formulation and implementation of nonpoint source water pollution control programs related to agricultural practices in order to implement programs required or authorized under federal law and section 25-8-205 (5), C.R.S., enter into contracts and agreements, accept funds from any federal, state, or private sources, receive grants or loans, participate in education and demonstration programs, construct, operate, maintain, or replace facilities, and perform such other activities and adopt such rules and policies as the board deems necessary or desirable in connection with nonpoint source water pollution control programs related to agricultural practices; (m) Make loans or grants to any public entity, nonprofit corporation, not-for-profit corporation, carrier ditch company, mutual ditch or reservoir company, unincorporated ditch or reservoir company, or cooperative association within the boundaries of the district to carry out the purposes of the district; (n) In connection with a plan of water management, assess annual service charges and user fees on the diversion or use of water within the district or a subdistrict. This paragraph (n) shall not allow service charges or user fees to be imposed on surface water diversions in a plan of water management to replace depletions from groundwater withdrawals or to reduce groundwater diversions. (o) Establish a nonprofit or charitable land trust; (p) Purchase, rent, lease, and accept donations of, or cooperate in the creation of, conservation easements; and (q) Cooperate in the creation of conservation reserve programs and other similar programs. (2) The district, in its own name, may issue revenue bonds to finance, in whole or in part, the construction of works, reservoirs, or other improvements for the beneficial use of water for the purposes for which it has been or may be appropriated, and to finance plans of water management, whether or not the interest on such bonds may be subject to taxation. Such revenue bonds shall be issued in such denominations and with such maximum net effective interest rate as may be fixed by the board of directors of the district and shall bear interest such that the net effective interest rate of the bonds does not exceed the maximum net effective interest rate authorized. The board shall pledge only rental proceeds, service charges, other income, or any combination thereof, from such works, plans of water management, or other improvements, and the district shall not be otherwise obligated for the payment thereof. At the time such revenue bonds are issued, the board of directors of the district shall make and enter in the minutes of the proceeding a resolution that sets out the due dates of such revenue bonds, the rates of interest thereon, the general provisions of the bonds, and a recital that the same are payable only out of rental proceeds, service charges, other income, or any combination thereof. In addition, the board of directors shall require the payment of rental charges, service charges, or other charges by the political subdivisions or persons who are to use or derive benefits from the water or other services furnished by such works, plans of water management, or improvements. Such charges shall be sufficient to pay operation and maintenance expenses thereof, to meet said bond payments, and to accumulate and maintain reserve and replacement accounts pertaining thereto as set forth in such resolution. Such resolution shall be irrepealable during the time that any of the revenue bonds are outstanding and unpaid. The revenue bonds shall be signed "Rio Grande Water Conservation District, By ..........., President. Attest .................., Secretary", and they shall be countersigned by the treasurer.
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