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<br />1. Define nonconsumptive needs and values: Define the recreational and <br />environmental values of rivers and their importance to local economies. <br /> <br />11. Determine an acceptable methodology to establish baseline conditions. Baseline <br />conditions are defined as the water required to maintain a healthy living river <br />ecosystem, and not the amount of water that is currently flowing down the rivers <br />each month. A common methodology needs to be established to define the <br />baseline. <br /> <br />1. Baseline conditions should not be confused with minimum stream flow, <br />which is the minimum CFS that the CWCB has identified for certain <br />Colorado river stretches. Environmentalists believe the CWCB' s <br />minimum stream flow levels are too low to maintain a living river <br />ecosystem. <br /> <br />2. The baseline does not define the need; rather, it helps determine if a <br />particular river stretch has a need for additional water to maintain a living <br />river ecosystem. The amount of river flow at different times during the <br />year will be compared to the baseline condition to determine if baseline <br />needs are being met. In general, needs always exceed availability. <br /> <br />111. Identify critical stream reaches. Begin with rivers that SWSI Phase II identified <br />as having critical environmental values, and then contact local stakeholders to <br />determine if other river reaches have critical environmental value. <br /> <br />IV. Quantify water needs: Identify the additional water needed for critical reaches. <br />Consider the amount of water needed to maintain the river as a biological entity <br />rather than a hydrologic vessel for transporting water from one point to another. <br /> <br />v. Identify reaches that require more data. <br /> <br />VI. Develop a phasing plan that considers what rivers need additional data, and <br />prioritize which rivers will be studied first. <br /> <br />V11. Determine the cost to maintain baseline conditions. <br /> <br />c. The NCNA is a new concept that has never been done before in Colorado, and it threatens <br />water rights holders who believe it will interfere with their existing water rights. Neubecker <br />hopes that the NCNA will first identify needs, and then lead to innovative funding sources <br />that pay to protect those needs. <br /> <br />d. HB 05-1177 states <br />37-75-102. Water rights - protections. (1) IT IS THE POLICY OF THE <br />GENERAL ASSEMBLY THAT THE CURRENT SYSTEM OF ALLOCATING WATER <br />WITHIN COLORADO SHALL NOT BE SUPERSEDED, ABROGATED, OR <br />OTHERWISE IMPAIRED BY THIS ARTICLE. NOTHING IN THIS ARTICLE SHALL <br />BE INTERPRETED TO REPEAL OR IN ANY MANNER AMEND THE EXISTING <br />WATER RIGHTS ADJUDICATION SYSTEM. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY AFFIRMS <br />THE STATE CONSTITUTION'S RECOGNITION OF WATER RIGHTS AS A PRIVATE <br />USUFRUCTUARY PROPERTY RIGHT, AND THIS ARTICLE IS NOT INTENDED TO <br /> <br />L\CWCB Imaging\Caleb\Minutes\Colorado\2007\Minutes Mar 2007 CBRTdoc <br /> <br />6 <br /> <br />7/l< <br />