Laserfiche WebLink
<br />001352 <br /> <br />water. or doesnlt have enough or can't <br />afford more. <br /> <br />As you can see. the words state water <br />plan mean a lot of different things to a lot <br />of different people. Yet I don't hear any <br />agreement about what they mean or should <br />mean. I think that in order. to talk <br />intelligently about a state water plan, we <br />need to know more about what it is, and we <br />need to be able to talk in common terms. <br />We're not really able to do that yet, <br />and I suggest that if we're going to have a <br />meaningful debate, we need to agree first of <br />all on what it is we're talking about. <br /> <br />My definition of a water plan iR a <br />document that would attempt to assess the <br />annual supply of water in Colorado, compute <br />existing supplies of water, project all <br />reasonable future needR and compact <br />Obligations for water, and then allocate the <br />remaining supplies after deducting the <br />existing uses and compact obligationR. <br />First question: Do we have a plan like <br />that? The answer is clearly "no." Second <br />question: Do we need a plan like that? I'd <br />like to formulate that question and ask, <br />before we ask whether we need one, whether <br />we can get one. Is it possible to write a <br />document like the one I described? <br /> <br />You could do it. I once started to do <br />it. at least in a very rough way. It's a <br />lengthy document. it's full of numbers. and <br />itls an extremely complex process because a <br />lot of variables go into it. Nevertheless. <br />it could be done. The point I want to make <br />most critically about that kind of water <br />plan is that under current Colorado law. and <br />within our constitutional framework. you <br />couldn't implement it. This leads me very <br />clearly to my third question: Why do it if <br />you can't implement it? People talk about <br />master plans and planning effor.ts, but these <br />are only as good as their implementation. <br />If there is no means to implement a state <br />water plan, and in my definition that means <br />allocating the remaining supplieR, then we <br />should not go through the procesR, becaURe <br />it is an extremely divisive thing to <br />exercise. <br /> <br />-6- <br />