celebrate water fluency colorado basin roundtable in cooperation with the negotiating our water...
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Celebrate WATER FLUENCY
Colorado Basin
Roundtable in cooperation with the
Negotiating our Water Futurein Colorado & the Colorado River Basin
Water 2012.org
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OverviewColorado Water Overview (Water 2012 Speakers Bureau –
statewide education effort)
Water supply challengesIn ColoradoBasin-wide
Constraints on water useThe Colorado Basin’s predicament Statewide water planning/ seeking
solutions:•Key Players•Basin Roundtable role
•Trade-offs•How you can participate
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Celebrate…because water is important for all that we do
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Celebrate…because Colorado is a headwaters state
Snow falls in the mountains
Builds as snowpack
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And drains in the spring and summer. Nourishing 19 states and Mexico
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Celebrate… because water has shaped Colorado’s
historySince the beginnings of settlement, mining and
agriculture
© W
est
ern
His
tory
/Genealo
gy D
ept.
, D
enver
Public
Lib
rary
.
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Then what’s the problem?
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Population is increasing but there’s no “new” water
Many uses compete for a scarce and limited water supply
Municipal & Industrial9%
Agriculture86%
Recreation
Environment
8
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Colorado’s “Gap”
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Colorado River Basin Gap – it’s already here:
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This year – we dodged a bullet:
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Constraints on water use: Solutions must recognize existing laws and agreements
Colorado Water LawColorado River Basin Compact
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Basics of Colorado Water Law:First in time, first in rightWater rights are property rights.
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1922 Compact: Upper Basin states must “not cause the flow of the River at Lee Ferry to be depleted below an aggregate of 75,000,000 acre feet in any 10 consecutive years.”
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Colorado Basin’s Predicament
• The 80/20 problem• Stresses• Water Planning/ Seeking Solutions
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- 80% of Colorado’s population is on the Front Range.- 80% of Colorado’s precipitation falls on the Western Slope.
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Result: Transmountain Diversions
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Full report available at: http://www.nwccog.org/index.php/programs/water-qualityquantity-committee/
Figures from report “Water and its Relationship to the Economies of the Headwaters Counties,” commissioned by the Northwest
Colorado Council of governments.
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StressesHeadwaters: Low, Flat Flows
Flows reduced by transmountain diversions.Ecosystem impacts: degraded habitat for fish, riparian
vegetationEconomic impacts: impediment to growth, tourism
Middle section: Flows depend on Shoshone Call
Water quality concerns: natural gas drilling, saline springsRapid population growth
Lower section: Flows depend on Cameo, Shoshone
Salts and selenium leach into river when water percolates through soils.
Less high-mountain water makes river saltier.
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CO Water Planning - Key Players
Interest Groups Institutions
Water utilitiesFarmersIndustryEnvironmental
AdvocatesRecreation
AdvocatesLocal governments
CO Water Conservation Board (CWCB): State studies & funding
Basin Roundtables: Stakeholder groups established by the legislature for “bottom-up” planning
Inter-basin Compact Committee (IBCC): Roundtable of Roundtables
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Conservation Ag to Urban
Transfers
New Projects(Colorado Basin development)
Roundtables developed preferred portfolios of these elements to fill the gap & contribute to a statewide water
plan scheduled for completion in 2015.
IBCC called for the “4-legged stool” Already planned projects (Windy Gap firming, Moffat Collection System, others) plus:
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Colorado Basin Roundtable: Seeking Solutions
Assessing NeedsConsumptive needs: “the gap” inside the basin is manageableWater & energy study: appears to be enough water in the
Yampa/White Basin to support oil shale developmentNon-consumptive: mapping attributes+ flow evaluation tool
Funding ProjectsReservoir enlargementsWatershed planningStudiesProjects to address environmental and recreational needs
Planning and NegotiatingAnalyzing the GapWeighing Trade-offsNegotiating with other Basin Roundtables
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Trade-off issues: Agricultural losses east of the divide generally go
up as Colorado River Water development goes down.
Agriculture on the Western Slope is highly inter-dependent with agriculture on the eastern plains.
Many are worried about risk: To eastern plains agriculture if we “underdevelop”
the Colorado.Of a “compact curtailment” if we overdevelop it.
Disagreement over how much can be saved via conservation: more regulation may be required for bigger savings.
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How You Can Participate: Monitor developments via e-newsletter; sign up at
www.coloradomesa.edu/watercenter to subscribe. Attend Colorado Basin Roundtable meetings: 4th Monday
each month, 1-4pm, Glenwood Springs Community CenterTalk to your Basin Roundtable Representatives. Find the
list at: http://www.coloradomesa.edu/WaterCenter/documents/ColoBRTlist.pdf
www.ColoradoMesa.Edu/WaterCenter
Water2012.org