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Appendix H Overview - Colorado Water for the 21st Century Act I ntrod uction The dialogue on water in Colorado has changed. The Colorado Water for the 21st Century Act creates a collaborative process which fundamentally changes how the state addresses its water challenges. Historical water use patterns have caught up with our choices of where we live and work. Increasingly communities have outgrown available water supplies. This predicament was created over time and will continue to become more dramatic as Colorado's population continues to grow and its water uses and needs change. To correct this problem by moving water from place to place without regard for the communities, economies, and the environment does not recognize the value and importance of water in all parts of Colorado. Water is moved from basin to basin and sub-basin to sub-basin in every corner of the state. In the past, and far too often, the movement of water has been viewed as creating winners and losers. However, this need not be the case. There is absolutely no question that compromise is in order and will be necessary to accommodate the many competing water uses in Colorado-but it does not mean that we are dealing with a zero sum proposition. This is the backdrop behind the collaborative process created by the Colorado Water for the 21 st Century Act. This Interbasin Compact initiative is based upon the premise that Coloradans must work together to address the water needs within our entire state. In order to foster this, the Colorado Water for the 21 st Century Act creates a framework that changes the dialogue on water throughout Colorado, broadens the range of stakeholders that will actively participate in the state's water decisions, and creates a locally driven process where the decision-making power is exactly where it should be - in the hands of those living throughout the state's river basins. Colorado Water for the 21st Century Act Provisions The Colorado Water for the 21 st Century Act sets up a framework that provides a permanent forum for broad-based water discussions. It creates two new structures: 1. The Interbasin Compact Committee, a state-wide committee that will address issues between basins; and 2. The Basin Roundtables. The Act established nine separate Roundtables - one for each of the state's eight major river basins, and a "Metro Roundtable" for the Denver metropolitan area. The nine Roundtables are: . The Arkansas Basin . The North Platte Basin . The Colorado Basin . The Rio Grande Basin . The Dolores/San Juan/San Miguel Basin . The South Platte Basin . The Gunnison Basin . The YampalWhite Basin . The Metro Basin CDNI S:\IBC Support\Report to Leglslature\Appendix H.doc ---- ....... Interbasin Compac Negotiation ~ IJEPARThIENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES H-1