Arkansas Basin_Water Supply and Needs

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The mission for the state in filling this gap should be: Foster cooperation among water suppliers and citizens in every water basin to examine and implement options to fill the gap between ongoing water planning and future water needs. The goals of this mission are to: 1. Foster cooperation among water suppliers and citizens in every water basin. And, because SWSI is an initiative, work must obviously continue. The CWCB should continue the discussions that began at the Basin Roundtable meetings about in-basin projects and needs. The state should also identify and help foster the discussion about when these in- basin plans and projects are likely to impact out-of- basin interests, and what if anything, can be done to mitigate, or better yet improve water resource management and the economic, social, and environmental conditions in both basins - keeping in mind that if water development proceeds as planned, these discussions focus on only 20 percent of our long term M&I needs. These discussions must be conducted in such a manner that our 80 percent solutions aren't jeopardized by institutional, political, or social rancor. Remember, we are planning to meet water needs by 2030. 2. Examine and implement options to fill the gap between ongoing water planning and future water needs. SWSI did not produce a list of specific projects to fill the 20 percent M&I gap, or provide for environmental and recreational needs. SWSI did identify the options, both at the conceptual and project specific level that would most likely be pursued to meet the gap between supply and demand. The examination and implementation of these options should be placed in the context of goal number one. 3. Examine and implement options to fill the gap associated with local agricultural shortages and environmental and recreational enhancements. As we move forward in addressing statewide needs, we should look to foster multipurpose projects that could also satisfy M&I, environmental, and recreational needs. These multipurpose projects will enhance project feasibility. In addition, opportunities for nonpermanent agricultural transfers warrant further consideration. o :\SHAWN\ARKANSAS\S 1_ARKANSAS. DOC Crafting new water supply alternatives to address anticipated supply gaps will be the work of the SWSI Basin Roundtables for Phase 2 of SWSI in those basins where a gap exists. These alternatives can serve two purposes - that of a new water supply project, and as an alternative to Identified Projects and Processes that may be unsuccessful. The options to be used as building blocks for these water supply projects have been presented in Section 10. 1.6 An Overview of the Arkansas Basin Water Supply and Needs Report This report presents the information contained in the SWSI Report that is specific to the Arkansas Basin as a starting point for the Arkansas Basin Roundtable to develop the needs assessment required by the Interbasin Compact Process. For additional data and discussion of analyses used in the development of the information presented here, the reader is referred to the SWSI Report and its appendices. The entire SWSI Report may be found on the CWCB website at http://cwcb.state.co.us/SWS IIi ndex. htm. I - I ;"'11 Following is a description of the contents of this Basin report: . Section 2 outlines the Statewide Demographic, Economic, and Social Setting. More detailed demographic data will be required as Colorado Water for the 21 st Century Act activities move forward. . Section 3 describes the Physical Environment of the Arkansas Basin. . Section 4 provides an overview of the Legal Framework for Water Use in Colorado. . Section 5 describes the Consumptive Water Supply Needs in the Arkansas Basin. CDIVI 1-5