BOARD00035 ‎(2)‎

• Board Meeting Date: 9/20/2006
• Description: IWM & D Section - Water Supply Reserve Account - Draft Criteria and Guidelines
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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While the SWSI was the most comprehensive statewide water study undertaken too date
the SWSI could not provide all the answers to the water resource issues that have .
challenged Colorado for decades; nor could it foresee all the emerging and changing
needs and issues. Additional inforn1ation and updating and refinement of data will be
critical to ensure that we make wise resource management decisions.

The S WSI did put forth a "picture" of where Colorado may be in 2030 years and
identified a number of important issues and questions regarding how that "picture" of
Colorado fits with the values, objectives, and future goals we have for our state. SWSI
identi fied 10 major findings and 8 recommendations which are summarized below.

SWSI Major Findings
1. Significant increases in Colorado's population-together with agricultural water
needs and an increased focus on recreation and environmental uses-will intensify
competition for water.
2. Projects and water management processes that local municipal and industrial
(M&I) providers are implementing or planning to implement have the ability to
meet about 80 percent of Colorado's M&I water needs through 2030.
3. To the extent that these identified M&I projects are not successfully implemented,
Colorado will see a significantly greater reduction in irrigated agricultural lands
as M&I water providers seek additional permanent transfers of agricultural water
rights to provide for the demands that would otherwise have been met by specific
projects and processes.
4. Supplies are not necessarily where demands are; localized shortages exist,
especially in headwater areas, and compact entitlements in some basins are not
fully utilized.
5. Increased reliance on nonrenewable, nontributary groundwater for permanent
water supply brings serious reliable and sustainability concerns in some areas,
. particularly along the Front Range.
6. In-basin solutions can help resolve the remaining 20 percent gap between M&I
water supply and demand, but there will be tradeoffs and impacts on other users-
especially agriculture and the environment.
7. Water conservation (beyond Levell) will be relied upon as a major tool for
meeting future M&I demands, but conservation alone cannot meet all of
Colorado's future M&I needs. Significant water conservation has already
occurred in many areas.
8. Environmental and recreational uses of water are expected to increase with
population growth. These uses help support Colorado's tourism industry, provide
recreational and environmental benefits for our citizens, and are an important
industry in many parts of the state. Without a mechanism to fund environmental
and recreational enhancement beyond the project mitigation measures required by

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Final Draft

July 12, 2006
Rev. 1 July 17,2006; Rev.2 July 31,2006; Rev. 3 August 4, 2006;
Rev. 4 August 9, 2006; Rev. 5 September 15,2006; Rev. 6 September 18,2006

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