MetroSouthPlatteInterimBasinWaterSupplyNeedsReport (2)

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South Platte Basin and deiixer jSouth' etro ~unties ~ Section 5 Consumptive Water Supply Needs in the South Platte Basin and Denver/South Metro Counties Water is managed in Colorado to meet the many important needs of our citizens and our environment, and is vital to Colorado's present and future. Our economy, our quality of life, our recreational opportunities, the environment, and human life itself are all dependent on water. The broad diversity of water uses in Colorado is indicative of the many ways in which we are affected by the water that is available to us and our environment, and how we choose to use it. Severe and continuing drought conditions throughout the state in the early 2000s in conjunction with rapid growth and concern over compact obligations have brought focus to the constraints on our state's water resources and the challenges associated with meeting multiple objectives and needs. As a significant step toward reaching SWSI's goal of helping Colorado maintain an adequate water supply for our citizens and the environment, SWSI evaluated water use in 2030 in each of the state's major river basins for the following categories of water use (as described in Section 4): . M&I . Agricultural . Recreation and Environmental A consistent and comprehensive method was developed in SWSI to estimate baseline (year 2000) and future (2030) water uses in the state. M&I and agricultural water projections represent "traditional" uses in water planning, and are generally associated with off-stream uses that have a consumptive component. In order to estimate current and future water needs for these uses, SWSI obtained historical water use data, population projections, and irrigated acreage data for each of the state's major river basins. Decreed CWCB instream flow and RICD water rights were inventoried, and a process for evaluating environmental and recreational uses was initiated - recognizing that these uses differ significantly from M&I and agricultural needs in that they are non- consumptive, flow-related uses. Approaches to defining water needs for environmental and recreational uses are described in Section 6. S:\1177\BASIN REPORTSlSOUTH PLATTE\S5_S0UTH PLATTE. DOC Demands on Colorado's water resources are projected to increase dramatically through 2030. In large part, this will be driven by continuing population increases, while agricultural uses remain high, environmental water uses continue, and more people participate in water-based recreational activities. The following sections describe the methods used in determining reconnaissance level water use projections for 2030, and the results of those analyses. 5.1 Overview of Projection Methods Standard methods were adapted for use in SWSI for projecting future M&I and agricultural uses throughout Colorado, then aggregated by the state's eight major river basins. Because of the unique, in-channel flow and non-consumptive nature of environmental and recreational uses - and some inherent conflicts even between different environmental and recreational uses in the types and timing of flows desired - Colorado's statutory framework for CWCB minimum instream flows was used as the initial basis for estimating future uses for recreation and the environment. Further enhancement of flows was considered in the options analysis phase of SWSI. The objectives of the SWSI water use analysis efforts were to: . Develop a reconnaissance-level water use forecast . Use consistent data and method throughout the state . Maximize the use of available data While numerous past evaluations and reports have projected future water use in the state, a standard method for SWSI was deemed important. Past efforts vary widely in their method and demographic projections, and do not provide complete coverage of the state. Nonetheless, past evaluations and databases were referenced in the development of SWSI water use projections to help guide the evaluation and validate results. The estimates developed in SWSI are intended to be reconnaissance-level estimates to guide a discussion of addressing the state's future water needs, CONI 5-1 ~ I)EI'.'\IUMENr 01 NATURAL RESOURCES