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<br />INTRODUCTION <br /> <br />The July 22, 1991 cover story of Time Magazine was entitled 'The Colorado - The West's Lifeline <br />is Now America's Most Endangered River." The heading also called tt"A fight over liquid gold' and <br />stated: "In a huge portion of the parched West, life would be impossible without the Colorado River. <br />Now the very prosperity that tts waters created threatens the river's survival." <br /> <br />The rulebook for the Colorado River is the 1922 Colorado River Compact, a document now nearly <br />70 years old. Time said, "This crttical document facilttated both the astonishing development of <br />the West and the problems that followed as a result." <br /> <br />From these statements the enormous significance of the Compact is evident, and a key person in <br />developing this and other compacts was Delph Carpenter, a Greeley lawyer who became an <br />institution in the development of interstate water treaties. <br /> <br />The centerpiece of Delph Carpenter's career was the Colorado River Compact and the <br />acknowledgement of his role came from no less a person than President Herbert Hoover. Hoover's <br />admiration for the work of Carpenter is evident from the two lellers included in this booklet. <br /> <br />Not only was Delph Carpenter an institution in the field of western water; he left a legacy through <br />his son Donald, who became an allorney and accompanied his father to many water meetings <br />including trips to see President Hoover. Delph Carpenter and Herbert Hoover were friends while <br />Hoover was Secretary of Commerce. Later, when Delph Carpenter became disabled wtth <br />Parkinson's Disease but struggled to continue his work, his son Donald took care of his father's <br />personal needs while he continued to work on the interstate water treaties. At the time that <br />Governor Ralph Carr delivered the speech which is reprinted here, Donald was on the East Coast <br />awaiting shipment to Europe in World War II. Ex-President Hoover arranged for Donald to attend <br />the banquet. <br /> <br />Donald Carpenter went on to a distinguished career as a district court judge in Greeley, including <br />presiding over the water court. <br /> <br />Today's students of water resources management will benefit from study of this speech and the <br />vision held by Delph Carpenter and his peers about Western water management. <br />