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st <br />Colorado Water for the 21 Century <br />A Public Education Project <br />01 July 2007 <br />Project Pr inciple Investigators <br />Jeffrey E. Tra nel, jtranel@colostate.edu <br />Agric ultural a nd Busine ss Manag ement Ec onomist, Col orado Sta te Univer sity <br />Rodney L . Sharp, rod.sharp@colostate.edu <br />Agric ultural a nd Busine ss Manag ement Ec onomist, Col orado Sta te Univer sity <br />Reagan Waskom, reagan.wa skom@colostate.edu <br />Directo r - Water Resourc es Resea rch I nstitute, C olorado St ate Unive rsity <br />The Princ iple I nvestig ators wil l work with CSU Extension liaisons to Basin Roundtabl es, other CSU <br />fa cu lt y, D ep ar tm en t o f N at ur al Re so ur ce s p er so nn el , a nd Ba si n R ou nd ta bl e m em be rs as ne ce ss ar y. <br />Project Summ ary <br />In Colorado, water is among the statenine independent basin roundtables and the I nterbas in Compact Committee ( IBC C) to fac ilitate <br />continued discu ssio ns wit hin an d betw een bas ins o n wate r manage ment i ssues and to encou rage locally <br />driven c ollabor ative solutions to water supply challeng es. This educational project allows Colorado <br />State University to use its experienced faculty to help the B asin Roundtables and IBCC meet mandated <br />obligations to educate and inform the public and to seek input from stakeholders on re l evant water <br />issues. <br />Situation <br />In Colorado, water is among the statechallenges and opportunities related to water requires a b asin-dr iven, collaborative approach. To <br />facilita te continue d discussi ons within a nd betw een basi ns on wate r manag ement issu es and to <br />encou rage locally driven c ollabora tive soluti ons to water su pply challen ges, Col orado2005, passed House Bill 05-1177. The Act sets up a framework that provides a permane <br />nt forum for <br />broad-based water discussions. The law created two new struc tures: 1) nine indep endent B asin <br />Roundtabl es; and 2) the Interbasin Compact Committee, a statewide c ommittee that addresses issues <br />betwee n basins. <br />By law, each Basin Roundtable is required to (1) de velop a water needs assessment for its basin, (2) <br />anal yz e any unappro priated water in its basin, ( 3) propos e methods/p rojects t o meet fu ture wat er need s, <br />and (4) inform, involve, and educate the public on r oundtable activitie s and neg otiations. Many Basin <br />Roundtables included educati on and cit izen involv ement in th eir By la ws; for example the Arkansas <br />Basin Ro un dt ab le byl aw s include four go als and ob jectives specific to improve d communic ations, <br />seeking stakehol der invol vement a nd input, a nd servin g as a me aningf ul source of educa tion and pu blic <br />outreach. <br />Likewise, the I nterbasin Compact Committee (IBCC) was cha rged with the responsibilities to: <br />