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<br />001354 <br /> <br />have to be developed for the financing and <br />construction of such projects. The problem <br />with this approach is that there is no <br />current need for big project development in <br />Colorado. except by the Front Range <br />municipalities which can afford to develop <br />their own projects. Therefore. the tax is <br />needed to subsidize project development for <br />future use. I don't believe this type of a <br />"water plan" is in Coloradols interests. <br />The state simply has too many other pressing <br />demands for its capital dollars than for <br />water project development to meet an <br />undefined future need. Such a "water plan" <br />is also not justified by a need to capture <br />Colorado's water before it is lost to Lower <br />Basin states. The allocations in the <br />Colorado and Upper Colorado compacts are <br />based upon beneficial consumptive use. Only <br />by efficiently increasing actual beneficial <br />consumptive uses will Colorado's entitlement <br />be developed. Merely constructing unneeded <br />storage will go nowhere toward accomplishing <br />this goal. <br /> <br />Equally important. it would be <br />imprudent for the state to invest millions <br />in major water storage projects without <br />careful consideration of other options and <br />priorities. Current state pOlicies <br />emphasize dam safety rehabilitation. <br />enlargement of existing structures. and <br />small project development. These all <br />represent alternatives which can increase <br />the actual beneficial consumptive use of <br />water on a statewide basis. in a more <br />efficient. cost effective. and <br />environmentally sensitive manner. Except <br />for any remaining projects which could be <br />federally funded. state policy leaves large <br />project development to those who can afford <br />it. <br /> <br />Many environmental interests argue that <br />a state water plan is necessary to increase <br />the efficiency of water use in Colorado. <br />However. such a plan cannot dictate <br />basinwide water management. since to do so <br />would violate Colorado's basic <br />constitutional framework of individual water <br />rights ownership. Moreover. the policy of <br />water use efficiency is already embodied in <br />Colorado's existing framework. For example. <br /> <br />-8- <br />