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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />0276 <br /> <br />supply status and her future plans for making further inroads upon the <br />water of the Colorado River, not alone for her own municipal needs <br />and purposes, but also for the irrigation of lands in the South Platte <br />Valley. <br /> <br />Denver's demand has been denied by the Secretary. We are con- <br />vinced that, in view of the facts above related, and being guided by the <br />clear wording and intendments of the Blue River Stipulation and of <br />Senate Document No. 80 of the 75th Congress, 1st Session, this de- <br />cision of the Secretary was right and that the Courts will sustain his <br />position. .Western Colorado, and, to our knowledge, many, many <br />people in Eastern Colorado, applaud the action of the Secretary. To <br />us it means that he takes the position that a solemn agreement, once <br />entered into, must be kept, even if one of the parties thereto, who <br />seeks to violate it, is a "great and growing city" with almost over- <br />whelming political prestige and financial standing in his own state. <br /> <br />Our analysis and appraisal makes it clear that, contrary to the <br />commitments which were made by Denver that she sought only water <br />for her minicipal needs when the Stipulation was formulated and sign- <br />ed, the City now plans and always has secretly planned an ambitious, <br />comprehensive and entirely ruthless scheme whereby her facilities <br />for the diversion of Blue River water will be utilized for the purpose <br />of taking additional Colorado River water, wherever she can find it, <br />for irrigation and other purposes in the South Platte Basin. That <br />this is true is evidenced, among other circumstances, by the actual <br />capacity of the Harold D. Roberts Tunnel, now being constructed and <br />nearing completion. While Denver is limited, by the terms of her <br />June 24, 1946 conditional decree, and by the Stipulation itself, to a <br />maximum diversion of 788 cu. ft. of water per second of time, the <br />actual capacity of the tunnel as constructed is 1000 second feet. This <br />leaves a capacity of 212 second feet which will be available for the <br />transmission of water for irrigation and industrial purposes, in addi- <br />tion to the entire capacity of the tunnel when not used for the trans- <br />mission of municipal water to Denver. Verification of the fact that <br />these are Denver's plans is found in public statements by officials of <br />the Board of Water Commissioners of the City and County of Denver, <br />made on numerous occasions, of which a record has been kept. <br /> <br />We are not at all deluded by Denver's propaganda that she needs <br />additional Colorado River water for municipal use. The City now has <br />a firm water supply, conservatively, of 400,000 acre feet from her <br />various sources, including the tributaries of the Colorado River. <br /> <br />2- <br />