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Against this backdrop of change and the 2002 drought, the
<br />Colorado W ater Conservation Board (CWCB) determined that it
<br />was important to understand and prepare for our long-term water
<br />needs.
<br />With the approval of the 2003 General Assembly , CWCB
<br />commissioned the Statewide W ater Supply Initiative (SWSI), an
<br />18-month study to explore, basin by basin, existing water plan,
<br />Introduction
<br />W ater in Colorado has always been both a source of life and an
<br />agent of change. Its path has carved our topography and shaped
<br />our culture. Aside from the air we breathe and land we inhabit,
<br />no natural resource is more precious. Nothing in the future will
<br />2 0 0 0 2 0 1 0 2 0 2 0 2 0 3 0
<br />have a greater impact on our ability to sustain our way of life and
<br />Percent
<br />preserve our environment for future generations than water .
<br />Increase Change
<br />In 2000 to
<br />Looking forward, it is hard to predict what Colorado will look like
<br />Basin 2000 2030 Population 2030
<br />in the coming decades. W e do know , however , that 2.8 million
<br />Arkansas 835,100 1,293,000 457,900 55
<br />more people are expected to call Colorado home by the year
<br />Colorado 248,000 492,600 244,600 99
<br />2030. Most of these new residents, almost 2.4 million, will live
<br />Dolores/San Juan/ 90,900 171,600 80,700 89
<br />along the Front Range, but the greatest percentage increases
<br />San Miguel
<br />will be seen in the W estern Slope and mountain communities.
<br />Gunnison 88,600 161,500 72,900 82
<br />W e know these new residents will need water , more water than
<br />North Platte 1,600 2,000 400 25
<br />can be delivered today . Conservation will play an important role,
<br />Rio Grande 46,400 62,700 16,300 35
<br />but conservation alone cannot meet all these requirements. New
<br />South Platte 2,985,600 4,91 1,600 1,926,000 65
<br />storage projects will be needed and must be pursued, but these
<br />Y ampa/White/Green 39,300 61,400 22,100 56
<br />can take years or even decades to permit and construct and their
<br />T otal 4,335,500 7,156,400 2,820,900 65
<br />success is uncertain. In this setting, cities will increasingly look to
<br />Source: Colorado Department of Local Af fairs Demography Section
<br />agricultural water to meet their needs, creating impacts on rural
<br />Population Projections by Basin
<br />Colorado that need to be recognized and addressed.
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