Rep. Cory Gardner, R-Yuma, has written a letter asking U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to issue a drought declaration for affected Colorado counties.

Gardner highlighted Weld County in the letter. The county has asked Gov. John Hickenlooper to lift restrictions on overflowing irrigation wells for a month.

The wells have flooded basements and crops, but farmers cannot use the water because the wells are shut down to protect senior water rights.

"This is a statewide tragedy and all counties, municipal governments, and agriculture will be subjected to water-use restrictions or limited water availability," Gardner wrote in the letter. "Our county governments are already moving ahead by issuing drought declarations, yet these declarations will not produce the federal assistance they desperately need."

A drought declaration would help farmers receive federal aid, according to Gardner's office.