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<br /> <br />2.8 South Platte Basin <br /> <br />2.8.1 Procedural Accomplishments <br /> <br />Since September 2005, the South Platte Basin <br />Roundtable has met on roughly a montly basis. Mr. Bill <br />Jerke was elected Chair of the South Platte Basin <br />Roundtable and Ms. Lisa McVicker appointed to serve as <br />recorder. The South Platte Basin Roundtable elected <br />three non-voting at large members. <br /> <br />As required by Section 37-75-104(a)(I) of the Act, the <br />South Platte Basin Roundtable adopted bylaws on <br />November 15,2005. A sub-committee on aquifer <br />recharge was formed following a presentation by Mr. <br />Ralph Topper of the Colorado Geological Survey on <br />aquifer storage and SB-193. The South Platte Basin <br />Roundtable also formed a groundwater sub-committee. <br /> <br />2.8.2 South Platte Basin Educational <br /> <br />Accomplishments <br /> <br />The South Platte Basin received a series of <br />presentations during its first year. These included a <br />presentation on SWSI on March 14, 2006, and two <br />presentations on May 2, 2006. The May presentations <br />were given by Dr. lyn Kathlene who presented on <br />beliefs and challenges for water providers and by Ms. B. <br />Marylou Smith of Aqua Engineering, Inc. who presented <br />on moving from polarized positions to win-win solutions. <br />The presentations received by the South Platte Basin <br />Roundtable are available on the Colorado Water for the <br />21st Century section of the DNR website. <br /> <br />2.8.3 South Platte Basin Needs <br /> <br />Assessment Accomplishments <br /> <br />An Interim Water Supply and Needs Report for the South <br />Platte Basin and Denver/South Metro Counties was <br />prepared utilizing information from the SWSI Report as <br />required by Section 37-75-104(c)(II). The report was <br />distributed and presented to the South Platte Basin <br />Roundtable at the July 11, 2006, meeting by Mr, Rick <br />Brown of CWCB. At the meeting, the South Platte Basin <br />Roundtable voted to adopt the Interim Water Supply and <br />Needs Assessment Report as their needs assessment <br />ubject to later refinements. <br /> <br />S:\IBC Support\Report to Legislature\Sedion 2 final.doc <br /> <br />Section 2 <br />Reports From Basin Roundtables <br />""(':!:'i!~ <br /> <br />2.8.4 Major Water Issues in the South <br /> <br />Platte Basin <br /> <br />Based on the findings in the needs assessment, the <br />Basin Roundtables are tasked with identifing major water <br />issues in their basin and proposing projects or methods <br />to meet those needs. The major water issues in each <br />basin as identified during SWSI served as a starting point <br />for the Basin Roundtables to further develop and refine <br />their own list of major water issues. Following are some <br />of the major issues in the South Platte Basin identified in <br />SWS/: <br /> <br />. Colorado's most diverse and industrialized basin. <br />Agriculture is still a dominant water use but rapid <br />changes are occurring and the impacts to rural <br />communities are a key concern. <br /> <br />. Competition for water is fierce and it is unclear how <br />much competition there is for the same water <br />supplies. <br /> <br />. Water reuse and conservation are major components <br />to meeting future water needs but this will put added <br />pressure on agriculture as return flows diminish. <br /> <br />. The urban landscape is very important to the <br />economy and an important component to quality of <br />life. <br /> <br />. Transfers of agricultural water rights to M&I use will <br />continue to be a significant option for meeting future <br />needs. <br /> <br />The South Platte Basin Roundtable continues to develop <br />and refine the list of issues in the South Platte Basin. <br /> <br />The South Platte Basin Roundtable has had a series of <br />small group discussions on issues and potential solutions <br />in different parts of the South Platte River Basin. These <br />small group meetings have facilitated meaningful <br />engagement between members and are helping the <br />South Platte Basin Roundtable progress towards a better <br />understanding of issues in the basin. The Mountains <br />Working Group identified three additional water issues: <br /> <br />. Study small communities and special districts to <br />develop a master plan to jointly develop water <br />projects. <br /> <br />. Explore storage projects that could be rehabilitated, <br />expanded or deepened to included additional partners <br />both upstream and downstream to meet multiple <br />water needs. <br /> <br />. Review policies on the State Enginee~s issuance of <br />well permits in over appropriated basins. <br /> <br />2-15 <br />