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<br />CONI <br /> <br />Methodologies for Estimating and Projecting Urban (Municipal & Industrial) and <br />Agricultural Demands and Environmental and Recreational Flow Requirements <br />November 2003 <br /> <br />Sensitive habitats in the state will be identified at a reconnaissance level based on <br />readily available data. These include identifying critical habitat of federally listed <br />endangered species, location of other endangered species habitat, location of habitat <br />of state listed threatened and endangered species and species of special concern, <br />significant wildlife habitat areas, gold medal trout fisheries, etc. <br /> <br />Existing Senior Water Rights: <br />There are certain circumstances under the priority system that create environmental <br />benefits. For example, senior water rights in the Grand Junction area result in a large <br />amount of water flowing to the Grand Valley. These large downstream water rights <br />help maintain the flows in the Colorado River that are enjoyed by recreational users <br />from the headwaters to Grand Junction. Absent these senior downstream water <br />rights, water could be diverted much higher in the basin. The same is true in many <br />other Colorado streams. The loss of senior agricultural or other water rights can cause <br />secondary impacts to stream flows. <br /> <br />All these factors, when considered in total, provide considerable environmental <br />benefits and place limitations on how much water can actually be developed and <br />used. The need for additional environmental considerations that have been requested <br />may further limit consumptive water development opportunities. SWSI will catalog <br />these requests and consider environmental concerns and opportunities during the <br />course of examining alternatives. <br /> <br />15 <br /> <br />S:\TASK 8 & 9 SUPPLY AND DEMAND\SWSI DEMAND METHODOLOGY 11-26-03.DOC <br />