RGBRT Minutes 8-14-07 Final

• Basin Roundtable: Rio Grande
• Title: August Minutes
• Date: 8/14/2007
• Basin Roundtables - Doc Type: Minutes

(discussion about other small post compact reservoirs and Article VII; Elephant Butte;
effects of releases in drought and full years).
MG -We've learned a lot about Compact issues. Bathroom humor: "Please flush, New
Mexico needs the water."
Mike S. was thanked for his presentation.
7. Non-Consumptive Use Committee -Status Report -Rio de la Vista
Rio - Nonconsumptive means environmental. We're still pulling together a huge amount
of data, GIS etc. We've planned another statewide meeting in late September or October.
I'll attend. At this point I have no more to report. If anybody is interested contact me. It
was noted that Joel (Recreation Rep.) should now be included in the fiiture meetings.
8. Consumptive Use Committee -Status Report -Mike Gibson
MG -There was an August 1 meeting in Denver - IBCC, CWCB, and Eric's group -
MG referred to the handout, "Colorado's Water Supply Future Newsletter, 2"d Quarter,
2007: Interbasin Compact Process" Re the goal: need to update consumptive needs
assessment from Statewide Water Supply Initiative (SWSI) Phase IL SWSI projected to
2020, now Roundtables must project the demand out to 2050; is this relevant? Can it be
accurate? Some basins want to do that. What about different patterns of growth in
population, etc.? EIS's being done on the Front Range are projecting to 2050 - - all
Roundtables need to go to a 2050 timeframe. SWSI studied the gap between demand &
availability, and the effects of that demand/availability gap, but since then some of the
projects that were to fill that gap have fallen by the wayside. People's thinking has
changed. These projects must be re-evaluated- may not affect the RG Basin. They want
us to provide a uiuform techiucal base. New evaluation wants to lalow the impact of
conservation and the effects on the supply gap. They want basins to look at conservation
as way to reduce that gap. What happens if we conserve water ?What are the
implications? Does this mean we can now allow more growth? Effects of increased
population? There's debate between providers and consumers as to how to address these
questions. Alamosa has a 10 year water conservation plan. Our needs assessment can
feed into that. They want us to look at Ag irrigated acreage ,and hence for the RG Basin
the issue of unsustainability. Lots of discussion needed. How to address our Ag demands.
We're saying our Ag demands must go down to achieve sustainability. The whole issue
of taking water from Ag might have to go to address population growth. Augmentation
program > Ag water > allow people to put in more wells? Larger users > fallowing?
They want the basins to look in more detail. There's also the issue of nontributary
ground water and how that plays into sustainability. Net result: We must recalculate the
gap between supply and demand to 2050. CDM is going to do that work for this RT.
Those who volunteered to work on the Consumptive Needs Assessment Subcommittee -
We need to meet - Look at SWSI Phase II document and go through it and the handout.
MG will set up a meeting of the Subcommittee members.
Minutes, August 14, 2007 7 Rio Grande Basin Roundtable