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<br />Alternative Agricultural Transfers Technical Roundtable Meeting #1 <br />Meeting Summary <br /> <br />. Significant increases in Colorado's population - together with agricultural water needs and <br />an increased focus on recreational and environmental uses - will intensify competition for <br />water <br />. Projects and water management planning processes that local M&I providers are <br />implementing or planning to implement have the ability to meet about 80 percent of <br />Colorado's M&I water needs through 2030 <br />. To the extent that these identified M&I projects and processes are not successfully <br />implemented, Colorado will see a significantly greater reduction in irrigated agricultural <br />lands as M&I water providers seek additional permanent transfers of agricultural water <br />rights to provide for the demands that would otherwise have been met by specific projects <br />and processes <br />. Supplies are not necessarily where demands are; localized shortages exist, especially in <br />headwater areas, and compact entitlements in some basins are not fully utilized <br />. Increased reliance on nonrenewable, non-tributary groundwater for permanent water supply <br />brings serious reliability and sustainability concerns in some areas, particularly along the <br />Front Range <br />. In-basin solutions can help resolve the remaining 20 percent gap between M&I supply and <br />demand, but there will be tradeoffs and impacts on other uses - especially agriculture and <br />the environment. <br />. Water conservation (beyond Level 1) will be relied upon as a major tool for meeting future <br />M&I demands, but conservation alone cannot meet all of Colorado's future M&I needs. <br />Significant water conservation has already occurred in many areas. <br />. Environmental and recreational uses of water are expected to increase with population <br />growth. These uses help support Colorado's tourism industry, provide recreational and <br />environmental benefits for our citizens, and are an important industry in many parts of the <br />state. Without a mechanism to fund environmental and recreational enhancement beyond the <br />project mitigation measures required by law, conflicts among M&I, agricultural, recreational, <br />and environmental users could intensify. <br />. The ability of smaller, rural water providers and agricultural water users to adequately <br />address their existing and future water needs is significantly affected by their financial <br />capabilities. <br />. While SWSI evaluated water needs and solutions through 2030, very few M&I water <br />providers have identified supplies beyond 2030. Beyond 2030, growing demands may require <br />more aggressive solutions. <br /> <br />There was no feedback from the TRT members on the key findings and interaction with <br />Interbasin Compact Roundtables. <br /> <br />Overview of TRT Process <br /> <br />Susan Morea presented an overview of the TRT process including a draft mission statement, <br />objectives, and the meeting schedule for this TRT. This draft mission statement was: <br /> <br />CDIVI <br /> <br />4 <br /> <br />S:\SWSI 2\Meetings\Technical Roundtable\TRT Meeting - Specific\Alternative Ag Transfers\summary\Alt Ag Tran TRT #1 Summary final.doc <br />