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Executive Summary <br />providers acquire and transfer agricultural water rights <br />from outside their service areas for use within their <br />service area. Additional reductions in irrigated lands are <br />projected for the South Platte, Arkansas, and Rio Grande <br />Basins as a result of the lack of affordable water supplies <br />to provide augmentation for well pumping (South Platte <br />and Arkansas) and the need to reduce overpumping of <br />groundwater resources in the Rio Grande. Additional <br />information regarding these dynamics is presented in <br />Section 5 of the full report. <br />By 2030, statewide agricultural gross diversions could <br />range from 10,200,000 AF to 11,000,000 AF depending <br />on the amount of irrigated acreage that exists. By 2030, <br />agricultural water use is projected to represent <br />approximately 86 percent of the state's total water use <br />(Figure ES-6). <br />Agricultural water shortages are common in many parts <br />of the state. Figure ES-7 illustrates the basins where the <br />DSS data exists (West Slope basins and the Rio Grande) <br />and the water districts where average annual water <br />shortages of greater than 10 percent exist. Colorado's <br />DSSs are a series of databases and tools that CWCB <br />and the Colorado Division of Water Resources are <br />developing to analyze and model water use in each <br />basin. These numbers represent average annual <br />shortages and it should be noted that many additional <br />agricultural water users have shortages during "below <br />average" water years. The South Platte and Arkansas <br />are estimated to have average annual shortages greater <br />than 10 percent for nearly all water districts within these <br />basins. <br />Environmental and Recreation Outlook <br />Recreation and tourism are economically vital to <br />Colorado. Recreational activities are also important to <br />the quality of life for many Coloradans. According to the <br />Colorado Office of State Planning and Budgeting (2002), <br />recreation and tourism inject about $8.5 billion into the <br />state's economy and employ about 8 percent of the total <br />workforce. Water-related activities, including winter <br />sports, comprise a significant component of the <br />recreational attractions drawing tourists to Colorado. The <br />most prevalent water-based activities include flatwater <br />and river-based activities, fishing, boating, rafting, and <br />snow skiing (water used for snowmaking). <br />To illustrate the impacts of water shortages on <br />recreation, the Colorado River Outfitters Association <br />reported that the 2002 drought caused a 39 percent drop <br />in whitewater rafting user days from 2001 levels. <br />Decreed instream flow and recreational in-channel <br />diversion (RICD) water rights were inventoried in SWSI. <br />The CWCB Instream Flow program is responsible for <br />obtaining water rights to protect the natural <br />environmental and making recommendations to the <br />water court regarding RICDs. Since 1973, CWCB has <br />obtained instream flow water rights for over 8,000 miles <br />of streams and has obtained lake level water rights for <br />475 natural lakes. As a result of input from the Basin <br />Roundtable process, SWSI has also explored other <br />methods for evaluating environmental and recreational <br />needs. Additional work will be needed in this area to <br />determine important resource areas and to identify <br />different methods for conserving, protecting, or restoring <br />these resources. <br />Summary <br />Clearly, the combination of significant increases in M&I <br />demands, continued major agricultural needs, and new <br />interests in the use of water for recreational and <br />environmental purposes, creates a high potential for <br />competition and intensifying conflicts over water use. <br />This reality provides a strong impetus for the multiple- <br />objective, multiple-benefit approach to water <br />management and future solutions to Colorado's water <br />needs undertaken in SWSI. <br />~ <br />$~ole'ri~ice Wo~e' $upplY Initia~ive <br />~~ <br />S:\REPORT\WORD PROCESSING\REPORT\EXEC SUMMARY 11-10-04.DOC ES-11 <br />Figure ES-6 <br />Relative Proportions ofAgricultural, M&l, and <br />SS/ Gross Water Use in 2030 <br />