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<br />Page 4 <br />Legislative Interim Committee on Land and Water Resources <br />RE: Wolford Mountain Reservoir <br /> <br />Although criticism would be leveled at the River District Boardfor "selling out "to East Slope <br />interests and equally at Denver Water for caving in to West Slope "blackmail, "the two Boards <br />met and agreed to match their individual needs with their respective resources: Denver Water <br />had the money but needed the water; the River District had the water, a permit to build a storage <br />reservoir, but insufficient jitnds to do so. <br /> <br />CONCLUSIONS <br />Water interests on both sides of Colorado 's Continental Divide had a shared interest in the <br />development of Wolford Mountain Reservoir. Historical animosities were set aside infavor of a <br />project which offered mutual benefits. <br /> <br />East Slope water entities agreed to protect present and future West Slope water users, the latter <br />being one of the West Slope's primary concerns with transrncuntain diversions. Federal and <br />local permitting was not a significant problem or delay because the River District allowed public <br />input to site and shape the project. Individual Board members of organizations which <br />historically communicated predominantly through staffs and attorneys met outside the formal <br />legal structures to better understand the other's needs and interests. East Slope and West Slope <br />interests ultimately agreed to match their respective needs and resources in such a way that all <br />parties got what they needed, thoug~ not everything they wanted <br /> <br />The result is a "good"reservoir: One supported by and benefitting both sides of the Divide and <br />one widely accepted, even by environmental interests, as the right kind of water project, <br />accomplished in the right manner. <br />