4-14 Senate Committee

• Title: 4-14 Senate Committee
• IBCC - Doc Type: Legislation

4-14 Senate Committee
Interviewer, Interviewee

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There have been a number of amendments on this bill from its
beginning and we have some more today. And that discussion will
help you to gain some comfort, I think, in the internal intricacies of
the way the process is set up. But I wanted to talk a little bit about
where the idea comes from and why we ask for your support today.

I've been involved in Colorado water issues and law for most of
my life and many of you, I think, can say the same thing. And
certainly, since time in public life, all of you have been also trying
to imagine, "Is there some better way to solve the hugely complex
problems of water supply and demand in Colorado?" And in
recent years, it has seemed to me certainly, that we had gotten
bogged down. Many interests, sort of, being locked into whatever
their defensive positions were and we were not really moving
ahead in ways that would, would promise some success in meeting
future water needs in this state. Driven, in the first instance, by the
fact that we're a semi-arid part of the country; but now, by the
increase level of demand that more population and all the things
that humans use water for is now pressing the state.

So, pretty clearly, we're at a water supply demand crisis. Partly
because nature has been less than predictable and less than
generous in recent years; but that's always been the case and will
continue to be so in the fi.lture. But, the rest of the problem is the
human created and adjusted supply and demand. And clearly
demand is now at supply and below supply in some places. And
for all the projects we see, unless something different happens;
demand will exceed supply pretty dramatically.

Our obligation and stewardship during our time in public service,
is to anticipate that while there's still time and put in motion what
we can. So that when, those who follow us, with otherwise be at a
crisis place; we will have planned for that and will have avoided
that crisis. Colorado Water Conservation Board has, to my
estimation, been very successful in addressing, educating on these
issues and this legislature, with CWCB, put the first really solid
step in a long time in place with the Statewide Water Supply
Initiative. And as you know, the foundation of that process has
been to go out into the communities, both for a fact finding
purpose and for an education purpose. And I think has been very
successful in engaging the folks out in the communities where this
really matters. To help us talk about, "How do we quantify supply
and demand, both now and for the fi.lture?" SWSI is really
designed to do the data, the science, the engineering part of this, as
well as, part of the education. But it seemed to me that we then
needed to step up to the final piece, which would be decision

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