2. Agenda
We Are Glad You Came
Colorado Water Plan Overview
Gap - Colorado River Basin Challenges
Grand County Challenges
Breakout Sessions
3. Thank You!
Your ideas and input
Included in the final report (appendix)
Merge common themes, ideas, concerns and suggestions with
other Town Hall input
Online survey found on website
http://coloradobip.sgm-inc.com
Entrance questionnaire
Interviews with water professionals, managers
4. Colorado Water Plan Overview –
Governor’s Executive
Order
Compilation of 9 Basin
Roundtables Plans
How can we meet the
“Gap”?
Planning horizon-2050
Draft due July 2014
6. Governor’s Executive Order-Why?
The “Gap” between future demand and future
projects is real….500,000 acre-feet per year
Population
Drought
Transfer of water rights from agriculture is
unacceptable
Water quality
Interstate issues pressing
Front Range new supply project
11. Many uses compete for
a scarce and limited
water supply
Municipal &
Industrial
9%
Agriculture
86%
Recreation
Environment
Graphics provided by the Colorado Foundation for Water
Remaining 5% - recreation/fisheries, augmentation and recharge
13. How can we fill the Gap?
Already planned projects (Windy Gap firming, Moffat Collection System+)
Conservation Ag to Urban
Transfers
New Projects
(Colorado Basin
development)
Graphics provided by the Colorado Foundation for Water
14. Population
County
2000
Population
2030
Population
Increase in
Population
2000 to
2030
Percent
Change
2000 to
2030
Percent
Annual
Growth
Rate
Eagle 43,300 86,900 43,600 101 2.3
Garfield 43,800 119,900 76,100 274 5.2
Grand 12,900 28,800 15,900 123 2.7
Mesa 116,250 220,600 104,350 190 3.8
Pitkin 15,900 27,200 11,300 71 1.8
Summit 25,700 50,400 24,700 96 2.3
TOTAL 248,000 492,600 244,600 99 2.3
Colorado River Basin – double by 2030
15. Grand County – Upper Colorado
River Basin Study (UPCO)
Investigated water quantity/quality in Grand (and Summit
counties)
Developed tools needed to understand impacts of
diversions
Supported negotiations among stakeholders
Current/future water supply
Reservoir level
Instream flows
Water quality
Need for additional water supplies for existing and future
municipal demands
Instream flows to support recreational uses and maintain
low-flows for water quality
16. Grand County – Stream
Management Plan
80 miles of the Upper Colorado River
Frame work for maintaining a healthy stream system
in Grand County - protect and enhance aquatic habitat
Also protect local water uses and retain flexibility for
future water operations
Identified
Target flows
Restoration opportunities
Monitoring recommendations
17. Grand County
Colorado River Cooperative Agreement
Denver Water and West Slope partnership (34 parties)
Framework for numerous actions to benefit
water supply
Environment
Denver Water to provide Grand County
Provide 375 acre-feet (ski areas)
920 acre-feet Clinton Bypass Water
Grand County Mutual Ditch and Reservoir Company – Vail Ditch shares
Denver Water will not undertake any future water development
activities w/o prior approval of Grand County and Colorado River
District
Assist in investigation/acquisition of Shoshone Power Plant by
Western Slope parties
18. Grand County Challenges
Diverse water supplies (groundwater/surface water)
No reservoirs (fens, permitting)
Reliance on instream flows
Water quality
Future population
Large fluctuations in demands – seasonal
Complex water rights (exchanges, pumpbacks, etc.)
20. What are Others Saying?
Need for multi-use/multi-benefit reservoirs
Educate on true cost of water
Land Use Policy
Preserve urban boundaries
Limit water use/outside irrigation
Depletions not just demand
Water Law Policy
Address evaporation in municipal reservoirs
"Use it or lose it" doctrine
New water right should have to prove long term supply
21. What are Others Saying?
Forest health and water quality
Conserve water use in agriculture on a basin level
Assess savings within the whole ditch system
Incentivize agriculture
Limit development
22. Breakout Sessions
What are your top 5 biggest concerns?
Consumptive
Environmental and Recreational (Nonconsumptive)
Agricultural
Hinweis der Redaktion
Issues that provoke thoughts about the larger basin – take self interests and expand to regional opportunities
Water is in short supplyIn the upcoming decades there could be a Gap between water supply and demand – as much as 500,000 acre-feet or more per year.Entire state is put at risk by this scenario, especially threatening to Colorado’s rural communities.
Population is in the south platte, metro and arkansas roundtables
86% towards agriculture, 7% municipal/domestic, 3% recreation/fisheries, 2% industrial/commercial, 1% augmentation, 1% rechargeAs you are probably aware, we are entering an era of increasing competition for water. Agriculture is currently by far the largest user of water in the state. Municipal use is where the largest growth is expected. Water to sustain the environment and provide recreation don’t deplete streams, but water rights to ensure those functions can limit other uses. “out here on the Western Slope, oil shale will always be the fuel of the future,” Spehar said.Energy
All areas of the state have projected gaps, but the size of the gap is the largest on the Front Range.Current (Colorado Basin) demand 62,000 acre-feet which can increase to ~120,000 acre-feet in the futureThis graph just shows the urban water gap – many argue that we also already have substantial gaps in meeting agricultural and environmental needs. In the Colorado Basin: Shortage of 100,000 acre-feet of water to support irrigated agricultureThere is also a non-consumptive gap in the Colorado River Basin, although it hasn’t been quantified.
The Colorado Water Conservation Board and the Inter-Basin Compact Committee (a Roundtable of Roundtables) have identified these “four legs of the stool” for filling the gap. None of these tools are without costs: to achieve ambitious conservation goals is difficult without new regulations and addressing touchy land-use issues; “buy and dry” has devastated some eastern plains communities;the headwaters are already suffering from transmountain diversions. 100,000 AFY shortageIncentives to encourage ag to continue production – reimburse ag for things beyond instream flow programMinimize taxes, improve farm economicsIdentify things you could do with no injury to other localized benefitsColorado basin 268,000 acres 8% of state total584,000 AFY current Consumptive Use of acreageEstimated that 40,000 to 58,000 lost to urbanization