Four round table work group reports 2007

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ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF AN INTRA - STATE COMPACT: · Compact should define the goal · Accurate characterization of water availability by basin · Accurate characterization of water needs · How do we avoid unintended consequences? · Accountabilit y: conservation; growth management · Certainty for all · Be conservative in assessing supply but aggressive in developing safe supplies · Needs clarity on legal assumptions o Enforceability o Water availability (e.g., Black Canyon case) o subject to negotiation s (requires flexibility) · Climate change must be incorporated · Evaluate risk on alternative scenarios · Prior Appropriation must be foundation · Shortage sharing o Shortage rules needed long before call because diversions years prior to a call can cause or af fect the call o Curtailment of new juniors in drought to prevent a call o Need analysis of risk to existing water use of future water development · During shortage: water should be exchangeable; need new alternatives for exchanges · Apportionment - based compa ct better than simple priority - based call · Compact may be too inflexible · Additional inflexibility may be needed · One group’s consensus: no apportionment - based compact, best to hope for is understanding of compact call administration · Intrastate Colorado R iver compact needs to involve all round tables · Recreational and environmental flows critical · TMDs must share proportionally in any compact curtailment including advanced curtailment to prevent compact call · Allocation to remaining water to all Colorado R iver basins (basis?) · Intrastate compact goal should be to avoid compact call · Recognize that compact allocates risk as well as water · Can compact curtailment procedures be used to allocate risk to future water supplies or reduce risk to existing water sup plies? · Each basin needs strategic water reserve o Water banks? · Neutral or positive to basins of origin · Efficiency improvements and conservation essential elements · Growth management · Step by step process; need initial framework that can be built on over time · Need more flexible system (e.g., ISC with pre - 1922 water rights) · Risk versus certainty · Method has to be administrable