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. RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE Each of the three subcommittees provided proposed recommendations to the full committee for consideration at its August 7, 1995, meeting, The ARCC discussed these subcommittee proposals and eventually adopted the following recommendations by either unanimous vote or a significant majority, approaching full consensus: . State officials should look to existing augmentation groups, and any new entities created by valley water users, to meet future well augmentation requirements that address the problems of depletions to usable stateline flows and prevent injury to senior Colorado surface rights. . The ability to pay will be determined by the well augmentation groups and their members and any further recommendation in this area is unnecessary, . With respect to the purchase and change of use of existing irrigation water rights for use in augmentation: 1. Do not purchase entire basin augmentation needs from a single geographic region to minimize impacts on: a) revegetation of the area, b) county tax base, and c) agriculturally dependent communities, Whenever possible, attempt to buy an entire water right in order to avoid minority shareholder problems. Attempt to purchase those systems or portions of systems that operate least efficiently in terms of volume of water used and agricultural productivity, .' 2, 3. . In the event Colorado must repay Kansas for obligations incurred prior to the decision of the Supremc Court of the United States rendered May 15, 1995, and repayment is required in water, the State of Colorado should purchase rights to a permanent, renewable supply of water. After the debt is repaid, such water should be available for lease or purchase in the following order of preference: 1) by well owners within the Arkansas River basin for augmentation purposes, and 2) for other beneficial purposes, In order to manage any such rights in accordance with the aforestated principles and to manage any such other water supplies and related facilities that it may acquire for the benefit of the citizens of the Arkansas River basin, the General Assembly should consider action to create a regional entity consisting of members representing both surface and groundwater interests in proportion to their use of water within the Arkansas River basin of Colorado to act in trust on behalfofthe people of Colorado, Furthermore, the state should not lease water which may become available on the spot market for the purpose of the repayment of prior obligations which would place it in competition with efforts of well owners to replace their subsequent depletions, . 7