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Section 2 <br />Conservation and Efficiency Technical Roundtable <br />increased willingness to engage in <br />conservation. The dialogue bas shifted from <br />whether to conserve to how much <br />conservation is appropriate for a particular <br />community. <br />7.1 million people. This represents an increase in <br />M~SCI demand of approximately 630,000 AF of <br />water. SWSI identified that about 80 percent of <br />this need could be met if M~eI providers projects <br />and plans are successfully implemented. <br />11. If conservation is to be used successfully to <br />meet growing demands in Colorado, it must be <br />fully integrated into the water resources <br />planning process. The CWCB-recommended <br />conservation planning process is an excellent <br />example of how to accomplish this. Few <br />utilities in Colorado have successfully <br />completed this type of integrated resources <br />planning to date, but are strongly encouraged <br />to use this process. <br />12. Conservation takes time to implement and <br />verify. It is, this way, different than traditional <br />supply development in that it is truly an <br />incremental process. <br />13. Conservation would benefit from greater <br />coordination inside water utilities' <br />departments and between utilities and city <br />and county governments, as sound decisions <br />involve building and landscape codes and <br />input from the development community, <br />policy makers, and citizens. <br />14. A statewide social marketing campaign to <br />promote the value and importance of <br />sustainable water resources in Colorado for <br />our people, land, environment, and economy <br />will greatly assist conservation efforts and will <br />help implement the conservation levels <br />established in this document Water is often a <br />divisive issue in Colorado and such a campaign <br />is a way to bring Coloradoans together to <br />achieve common ground on the value of water <br />and the importance of wise stewardship of our <br />precious resources. <br />The Role of Water Conservation in Water <br />Supply Planning and Meeting the Gap <br />By the year 2030, Colorado's population is <br />expected to grow 65 percent, adding about <br />2.6 million more residents for a total population of <br />SWSI bas catalogued the specific projects, plans, <br />and processes that local water suppliers have <br />identified and are undertaking as components of <br />their own water supply planning efforts to meet <br />the needs they themselves have identified. As a <br />whole, if these projects are implemented, <br />80 percent of the state's long-term M~eI needs will <br />be met. This is the most optimistic scenario. But <br />there is uncertainty and hurdles to overcome. <br />The mission of the state with respect to meeting <br />80 percent of our M~SCI water needs by 2030 should <br />be: <br />Following the lead of local water suppliers, the <br />state will monitor long-term water needs, <br />provide technical and financial assistance to <br />put the necessary plans, projects, and <br />programs in place to meet those needs, and <br />foster cooperation to avoid being forced to <br />make trade-offs that would otherwise harm <br />Colorado's environment, lifestyle, culture, and <br />economy. <br />As previously stated, water conservation will be an <br />important element of these plans, the state must <br />also address the remaining 20 percent gap between <br />supply and need. In addition, localized agricultural <br />shortages have been identified in all basins along <br />with significant environmental and recreational <br />needs. Articulating the CWCB's role in helping to <br />narrow and eventually eliminate this gap is much <br />trickier -both institutionally and politically. <br />It is this gap that must be filled with "new" water. <br />If water suppliers bad the water to meet the <br />demand represented by this gap, there would be no <br />gap. <br />FINAL DRAFT 2-25 <br />