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<br />~ <br /> <br />.. ~ t-' ;t <br /> <br /> <br />WATER QUALITY I QUANTITY COMMllTEE (QQ) <br /> <br />J ED <br />DEe 0 1 2003 <br /> <br />Post Office Box 2308 · Silverthorne, Colorado 80498 <br />(970) 468-0295 · Fax: (970) 468-1208 · emaj[~ qqwater@coJorado,net <br /> <br />Colorado \.vet~r Conservation Board <br /> <br />November 19,2003 <br /> <br />Ken Salazar <br />Attorney General <br />Of~ce of the Attorlley General, State of Colorado <br />1525 Sherman Street, "7th Floor <br />Denver, CO .80203 <br /> <br />Re: Water Matters <br /> <br />Dear Ken: <br /> <br />We received a copy of you Jetter to Senator Entz and Senator Hoppe concerning water <br />matters. We were.pleased to see your office take a leadership role in this enormously important <br />issue~ From our point of view, the (:olorado water supply crisis has been exacerbated by too few <br />leaders wh,o are willing to take a state?Wwide perspective. <br /> <br />Northwest Colorado Council of Governments, an active participant in water resource <br />planning over the last thirty years, has learned that there are a plethora of options to meet tl1e. <br />state's water Sllpply needs, but institutiQnal and political barriers frequently blocl( evaluation and <br />implementation of viable solutions. The teclmical issues associated witl1 water supply plalllling <br />are complex, in part, because all of the ~'easy" water projects have been bllilt. Nevertheless, <br />there are very talented, knowledgeaole people who llave devoted their careers to working <br />through the complexity to develop realistic sollltions. These solutions, however, require that <br />multiple jllrisdictions and interest groups worI( together in a concentrated and coordinated effort. <br />Wolford Mountain Reservoir and Clinton Reservoir are exmnples of water supply sollltions that <br />were implemented because of coordinated efforts among jurisdictions representing very differe11t <br />interests and pOi11ts of view. You Inay be aware that there ar~ on..going water Sllpply planning <br />efforts ill the Eagle River Basin and in the Fraser and BIlle River Basins sponsored by <br />jurisdictiollS from the east and west s~de of tile continental divide. T11ese efforts emerged <br />without the bellefit of state sponsorship or legislation because forward-t11il1king water planners <br />'recognize that it is essential to sponsor cooperative effor~s that are designed to simultaneously <br />meet many different needs. Frotn this experience, we welcome an opportunity to explore the <br />cOllcept of a south. metropolitan water authority or siluilar entity to coordinate tIle efforts of tIle <br />InlLltiple jllrisdictions that are vying for the same growth alld the same \vater. Complex techllical <br />solutions reqllire integrated water resource planning. <br /> <br />Y Ollr letter describes S0111e of the state-spOilsored pJanl1il1g efforts, silel1 as t11e Statewide <br />Water Supply Investigation and the SOllth Metropolitan Water Sllpply Study. Menlbers of <br />Northw~st Colorado COUllCil of Governments support and participate in these, and other state <br />