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<br />Colorado Water for the 21st Century <br />Metro Roundtable - Meeting Minutes <br /> <br />January 18, 2006 <br />Denver Water Board Room <br />Denver, Colorado <br />4:00 - 5:45 PM <br /> <br />Chairman Doug Scott chaired the meeting. <br /> <br />Alan Berryman (Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District) and Larry <br />Cerrillo (a mountain area hydrogeologist) were elected as non-voting members of <br />the Metro Roundtable. <br /> <br />Dr. Lyn Kathlene presented a summary of a study by the Colorado Institute of <br />Public Policy (Colorado State University) entitled "Water in 2025 - Beliefs and <br />Values as a Means of Cooperation", January 2006. She also reported that CSU <br />is partnering with the Department of Natural Resources to support water <br />roundtables around the state. <br /> <br />Peter Binney (Aurora) described his general observations concerning water <br />requirements and future water supplies in the Denver metro area. Observations <br />included the following: <br /> <br />1. The area represented within the Metro Roundtable is unique because it is <br />a major importer of water from other basins. <br />2. There are currently about 2.6 million residents in the metro area, which <br />may increase to 3.7 million in the next 25 years. The water supply <br />requirement may grow from currently 475,000 acre-feet per year to <br />725,000 acre-feet in 25 years, an increase of 250,000 acre-feet. 25 years <br />is not necessarily the appropriate planning horizon, but it is a "first step" <br />for laying groundwork for a sustainable water supply. <br />3. The metro area provides roughly 60% of the state's economy. <br />4. Water supply planning in the metro area is Balkanized among numerous <br />governmental entities, but big "economy of scale" will be required for large <br />future water supply projects. Financial assistance at the state level will <br />likely be required for large-scale projects. <br />5. The metro area is already incurring extremely high water tap fees in <br />comparison with other areas around the state and the country. The ability <br />to pay for water projects is beginning to reach the upper limits dictated by <br />economics. <br /> <br />In a general discussion, Chips Barry reported that Denver Water has <br />experienced a lingering reduction in water demand that is on the order of 20% <br />below pre-drought levels, probably attributable to increased public awareness <br /> <br />Page lof2 <br />