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<br />'"InfO''? 5 9
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<br />the Pacific Ocean inland
<br />to Riverside and San
<br />Bernardino counties: the
<br />large population cities of
<br />Los Angeles, San Diego
<br />and Riverside plus some
<br />135 others, many of which
<br />in other states would them-
<br />selves be considered quite
<br />large. That water wheel
<br />serves homes, serves busi-
<br />ness and industry, serves
<br />government, even serves
<br />some agriculture in a 5,200-
<br />square-mile semidesert
<br />producing less than one-
<br />third of the water that .
<br />"greens" it-and that's
<br />green as in greenbacks.
<br />About 110 miles east of
<br />Los Angeles, Coacl,lelhi
<br />Valley lies in one of North
<br />Ametica's hottest driest
<br />zones. Summer tempera~
<br />tures reach the l00-teens,
<br />then dip to a "moderate"
<br />85-90 degrees at night. It is
<br />home to two major indus-
<br />tries -agriculture and
<br />recreation ~and both
<br />depend on one thing for
<br />success: water. Though,
<br />they account for only 10 to
<br />15 percent of the valley's
<br />water supply, it's the urban
<br />uses that are the ongoing
<br />target of arrows shot by
<br />indignant critics. The valley
<br />is a recreational oasis with
<br />lakes, emerald fairways
<br />and water parks with fom,.
<br />foot waves for surfing.
<br />But resorts and recre-:
<br />ation are the industry of the'
<br />valley~just as surely as
<br />steel mills, oil refineries and
<br />automobile factories help
<br />other cities in other parts
<br />of the country keep their
<br />economies on a healthy
<br />course. Valley population
<br />swells from 150,000 to
<br />230,000 with sun seekers
<br />and second-home owners
<br />in fall and winter, bringing
<br />to life an industry fueled by
<br />top-notch water manage-
<br />ment by Coachella Valley
<br />Water District which brings
<br />
<br />Colorado River water to the
<br />area via the All-American
<br />and Coachella canals.
<br />Other ColorMo River
<br />water users iri California are
<br />Imperial and Palo Verde
<br />irrigation districts. As the
<br />names imply urban use of
<br />their shares of the river are
<br />minimal and none, respec-
<br />tively. And in Imperial's
<br />case, only 2 percent of its
<br />snpplies are used to serve
<br />the 120,000 people in the
<br />valley's towns.
<br />
<br />COLORADO
<br />Colorado's economy was
<br />founded on two mainstays:
<br />agriculture and mining. The
<br />saga of RA.W. Tabor, his
<br />flamboyant wife Baby Doe
<br />and their Matchless Mine
<br />immortalized the riches
<br />Colorado spewed upon its
<br />fortune hunters in the late .
<br />1800s. And who could forget
<br />the Unsinkable Molly
<br />Brown, heroine of a silyer-
<br />. mine-strike, rags-to-riches
<br />. story spread the world
<br />round. Todayagricutture
<br />and mining still produce rev-
<br />enue for Colorado, but the
<br />ecOnomy is fueled by new
<br />sources. Manufacturing,
<br />including computers, elec-
<br />tronic instruments; booster
<br />rockets, food products and
<br />many others, defense-re,lat-
<br />ed comI'anies, military bases.
<br />and the U.S. Air Force
<br />Academy, financial, medical
<br />and retail activities, and
<br />transportation all contribute'
<br />mightily. But, just as mining .
<br />was the lode stone of the
<br />past, tourism fills that role
<br />today. Colorado's second
<br />largest industry, tourism and
<br />recreation, has put the spot-
<br />light on the same areas of
<br />the state in which yester-
<br />day's mines were found.
<br />In providing water for this
<br />state's cities, the Colorado
<br />River aids in serving nearly
<br />two-thirds of its population.
<br />Major urban users are
<br />Denver, Colorado Springs,
<br />
<br />CRWUA
<br />
<br />Pueblo and other smaller
<br />east slope cities and towns.
<br />The river runs through
<br />Colorado's west slope;
<br />however, 80 percent of the
<br />state's population settled
<br />on its eastern plains. To
<br />serve east slope cities,
<br />Colorado River water must.
<br />travel over or through
<br />Rocky Mountain peaks to
<br />reach these urban centers.
<br />The mile-high city of
<br />Denver, which shares its
<br />water supply with more
<br />than 40 surrounding com-
<br />munities, can move hun-
<br />dreds of thousands of acre-
<br />feet of water a year from
<br />west to east through its vast
<br />transmountain water deliv-
<br />ery system. No easy task on
<br />flat ground, this requires a
<br />dizzying maze zig-zagging
<br />through the high Rockies
<br />to take all the advantage it
<br />can of gravity.
<br />Molly Brown's Denver,
<br />. though her Victorian home
<br />on Pennsylvania Street
<br />. stands today attracting'
<br />many a tourist, bears little
<br />resemblance to this cos-
<br />mopolitan city of the '90s
<br />that is home to nearly
<br />468,000 people and sprawls
<br />into surrounding communi-
<br />ties that add another near
<br />1.4 million head count. And .
<br />,!JOpulation projections pre-
<br />dict the total could reach
<br />3 million by the turn of the
<br />century. Complementing
<br />Denver's business districts,
<br />are museums, theaters,
<br />sports arenas and a variety
<br />of educational institutions
<br />which all contribute to the
<br />state's economy and which
<br />all benefit from its Colorado
<br />River water supply. As are
<br />most metropolitan centers,
<br />Denver is heavily involved
<br />in conservation, reuse and
<br />other supply maximizers.
<br />The Denver metropoli-
<br />tan area is not the only
<br />. urban area of the state
<br />dependent on the Colorado
<br />River. An important mili-
<br />tary center, home to the
<br />North American Air
<br />
<br />Defense Command, the Air
<br />Force Academy, Falcon Air
<br />Station, Fort Carson Army
<br />Base, Peterson Air Force
<br />Base and the U.S. Space
<br />Command, Colorado
<br />Springs lies about 6b miles
<br />south of the capital city.
<br />Located. at the foot of Pikes
<br />Peak, the view from the top
<br />of which inspired the pen-
<br />ning of "America the
<br />Beautiful," this city of many
<br />interests not oitIy attracts
<br />visitors from across the
<br />country to view the spaciou~
<br />skies, purple 'mountains,
<br />amber waves and frnited
<br />plains, but draws sports fans
<br />to the World Figure Skating
<br />Museum Hall of Fame, the .
<br />Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame
<br />and the U.S. Olympic
<br />Training Center. Growth in
<br />recent years was spurred by
<br />the expansion of high-tech
<br />industry around the military .
<br />facilities and at its height in
<br />the mid-8bs was predicted
<br />would result in an additional
<br />50,000 jobs by the year 2000.
<br />Until the late 1940s, .
<br />Colorado Springs' sole
<br />water source waS surlace
<br />runoff from Pikes Peak:
<br />Today, in addition to the
<br />runoff, the city depends on .
<br />transmountl!in diversion of .
<br />Colorado.Rivet.wat~rdeliir:
<br />'ered by several headwaters" .
<br />. collectioll systems.' .
<br />Travelling another 40
<br />miles south,olle reaches
<br />Pueblo, population 98,600.
<br />Established in 1842 as a .
<br />crossroads for mountain
<br />men, trappers, traders and
<br />Indians, it was 1872 before
<br />industry surfaced. In
<br />response to the arrival of the
<br />railroad and the discovery of
<br />gold near Trinidad to the
<br />south, Pueblo developed
<br />thriving iron foundries and
<br />smelters to serve the flour-
<br />ishing mines. Within a
<br />decade, this small crossroads
<br />had become Colorado's
<br />major industrial center, a
<br />distinction it retains today.
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