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<br />. . <br /> <br />OU1355 <br /> <br />the Colorado courts have adopted the <br />doctrine of "maximum utilization." <br />References to the "greater utilization" of <br />the waters of the state abound throughout <br />the organic act of the Colorado Water <br />Conservation Board. and the Board's <br />construction fund authority includes (and <br />the Board has funded) projects which "effect <br />more efficient use of" Colorado's water <br />resources. In the last legislative session. <br />the Department of Natural Resources sought a <br />staff position in the Water Conservation <br />Board which would have dealt exclusively <br />with water management and efficiency <br />issues. Colorado's system for changes of <br />water rights. exchanges. loans of water <br />rights and plans for augmentation also <br />encourage cooperation and efficiency among <br />water users in the same basin. <br /> <br />Another useful perspective is provided by David Robbins. a <br /> <br />former member of the Colorado Water Conservation Board and <br /> <br />currently a Colorado member of the Salinity Control Forum: <br /> <br />Let's talk about the notion of a "state <br />water plan." Use of the term "state water <br />plan" seems usually to carry with it the <br />connotation that there should be a master <br />blueprint for the development of new water <br />projects. The question of who would <br />implement such a plan--who would exercise <br />leadership--is usually passed over or one is <br />left with the vague impression that state <br />government has the authority to make these <br />decisions. <br /> <br />In my view. this notion of a "state <br />water plan" is inapplicable to the water <br />rights system we have in Colorado. There is <br />no authority or place for such a plan under <br />Colorado statutes. Indeed. such a "state <br />water plan" would be the very antithesis of <br />the state's prior appropriations system. <br />which leaves decisions concerning the use. <br />development. and transfer of water to <br />individual appropriators and the economic <br />forces of the marketplace. <br /> <br />-9- <br />