S2_11-15-04

• Basin: Statewide
• Title: SWSI Phase 1 Report - Section 2 Statewide Demographic, Economic, and Social Setting
• Date: 11/15/2004
• Author: CWCB
• SWSI - Doc Type: Final Report

Section 2
Statewide Demographic, Economic, and Social Setting
The three major water-based recreation activities in
Colorado are skiing, boating, and fishing. Water-based
recreation and tourism is generally a non-consumptive
use of water. The availability of water in streams and in
reservoirs has a major impact upon water-based
recreation. People in Colorado's urban areas also
participate in these activities.
All three segments of mining have had a long-term
presence in Colorado. Non-fuel mineral production uses
water for leaching and processing. Coal mining uses
water for dust control. The oil and gas industry uses
water to enhance production from older fields. The
relative importance of mining to the Colorado economy
has declined in recent decades.
2.3 Statewide Social Setting
Water is clearly important to Coloradans, as its
availability, use, and particularly its limitations - as
evidenced in recent drought conditions in many parts of
the state - has an impact on virtually every citizen. The
early phases of the SWSI process included a series of
public information meetings to help gauge the level and
types of interest in water use and water planning
throughout the state, and to help guide the assessment
of future water needs and strategies for meeting those
needs. A second round of public information meetings
was held in conjunction with the fourth round of Basin
Roundtable Technical Meetings.
This section presents highlights from the SWSI public
information meetings. These meetings provided the most
current and broadly accessible venue for the public to
share its opinions about water management in Colorado.
In the first round of public information meetings, a total of
11 meetings were conducted around the state, with one
or two meetings held in each basin in August and
September 2003. Public notification of the meetings
included paid advertising, press releases, public service
announcements, flyers, and notification of civic
organizations. The meetings were each attended by
about 25 to 60 people, representing interests such as
agriculture, water users, municipalities, and utilities, but
environmental interests were generally the dominant
group. The second round of public information meetings
was advertised through press releases around the state
and through Basin Roundtable members, consisting of
one meeting per basin in August and September 2004.
Public comment was also taken at the 30 Basin
Roundtable Technical Meetings and 7 CWCB meetings.
Meeting summaries for all Basin Roundtable Technical
Meetings are included in Appendix B.
The key issues brought forth in the public meetings in
each basin are highlighted in Table 2-21. Because this
was an open public meeting, views expressed in the
meeting are those of the participating individuals and
thus may not be representative of the majority of basin
residents. Moreover, the list of issues brought up at each
meeting may not be complete, in that meeting
attendance and participation was widely encouraged but
purely voluntary.
The input received via these meetings was used in the
formulation of water management objectives and options
throughout the SWSI process. Additional public comment
was received at the end of each Basin Roundtable
Technical Meeting that reflected on the meetings'
discussions and provided additional public feedback on
the progress of SWSI or other water management and
use issues. The Basin Roundtable process is more fully
described in Section 9.
Further evidence of the importance of water as part of
the statewide social setting is seen in the media
coverage afforded to water issues in Colorado. While
media coverage tends to increase in intensity when
drought conditions prevail, newspaper, radio, and
television coverage of water issues is frequent in all parts
of the state under virtually all hydrologic conditions. This
coverage included widespread coverage of SWSI in each
basin, often timed to coincide with major SWSI events
such as Basin Roundtable Technical Meetings and public
information meetings.
Throughout SWSI, the state's social setting as it applies
to water became evident through the passion and
commitment expressed by Basin Roundtable members,
agencies, and the public, representing a broad diversity
of opinions, needs, and visions for the future.
~
$~ole'ri~ice Wo~e' $upplY Initia~ive
~~
S:\REPORT\WORD PROCESSING\REPORT\S2 11-10.04.DOC 2-13