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<br /> <br />Quarterly Newsletter March 2003 Volume 8, Issue I <br /> <br />LeafJerrlbip e3Money: <br />tbe AllrIwer to ColoraiJo:' Water Sbortage <br /> <br />"The drought is a disaster in Colorado. It will take us five years to recover beyond 2004," says Dick MacRavC}T, 46 year <br />water lobby veteran and editor of the Water Intelligence Report. Dry times have settled over most of the. West. <br />Westerners know that drought is always a specter, but wetter times and advanced water management. over the last <br />decade made it easy to forget that much of the inland west is desert. The drought that hit much of the entire country <br />in 2002 was particularly punishing to rural areas both due to the vulnerability of agriculture and enormous residential <br />growth in recent years. The past ftxes to drought or need for more water including more dams, deeper wells, and stream <br />diversions are limited today. How can leaders respond to the current drought as well as longer-term water needs? <br />Reeves Brown, Executive Director of Club 20, a grouping of local governments, businesses, and other entities that <br />represent Colorado's western slope, says, "Solving our water management problems is long term. The legislature is <br />under a time crunch to do something now which forces them to be somewhat reactive." <br /> <br />Bylate suml11-er of 2002, pundits were speculating that over 80 legislative proposals would emerge from the Colorado <br />State House in 2003 related to drought and water. Yet, there have been only a few actual bills. Addressing drought <br />and Water issues statewide has proven tricky at best due to a lack of funds and the nature of western water policy. <br />"Everyqne agrees we need to improve and increase water storage," was Dawn Taylor's comment. She is the <br />Comm~nications Director for Colorado's Department of Natural Resources. She also said that things will change but <br />that legislators are "making policy from scratch." <br /> <br />.fu MacRavey says, "The toughest job is keeping everyone talking to each other." There has been lots of talking during <br />this legislative session, but no real resolutions. One promising development is the joining, in principle at least, of 64 <br />counties to rally around Club 20's 10 principles for water development. One of the principles states that developing <br />local water supplies should be fully explored before water transfers from one basin to another are analyzed. It goes on <br />to state that when diversions do occur they must beneftt both the area doing the transfer and the basin of origin. <br />Conservation is also held out as an important element of water planning and that all water users should take part in <br />solving water shortage problems. Joining Club 20 is Alliance 22 in southeastern CO and Progressive 15 in the northeastern <br />part of the state. MacRavey points out that principles are great but that they mean nothing if not backed up by <br />legislation and funding to enforce them. Club 20 president Reeves Brown says, "We have built the relationships in <br />order to form a broader vision. We plan to continue playing a leadership role in getting guidelines, statutes, and <br />legislation in place." <br /> <br />Diane Hoppe (Rep, Sterling) has championed HB 03-1001 that lays out a number of options for quick adjustments to <br />water management in drought times such as the ability for municipalities to utilize water reserves during drought if <br />they help pay for reservoir repairs, the right of states to share federal water facilities during drought, and assistance from <br />the Department of Local Affairs to local governments seeking to establish tiered water billing systems that show customer <br />usage. The bill also would authorize the CO Water Conservation Board (CWCB) to spend up to $3 million assessing <br />the statewide water supply. . C I- . ':l n 2 <br />on"lnueu on rage <br /> <br />In tbiJ IJJue of tbe Water Letter <br /> <br />Answers to Colorado's Water Shortage .............. 1 & 2 <br />Cloud Seeding Programs .......................................... 3 <br />Dolores Changing of the Guard ............................... 3 <br /> <br />Federal Reserve Water Update .................................... 3 <br />Participating Entities & Events Calendar ...................4 <br />