Section6_Implementation

• Title: SWSI Phase 2 Report - Section 6 Implementation and Recommendations for Colorado's Water Supply Future
• Date: 11/7/2007
• Author: CWCB
• SWSI II - Doc Type: Final Report

Section 6
Implementation and Recommendations for Colorado's Water Supply Future
growing water demands that will continue beyond
2030.
The recent drought exposed the vulnerability of
many providers' systems.
Water providers have identified shortfalls in
existing system reliability and meeting future
demands.
Coupled with the potential impacts of climate
variability and the fact that growth will
continue past 2030, it is clear that both water
conservation and structural water projects will
be needed to meet future M~eI demands.
Storage will be needed to carry over conserved
water for droughts.
It would be inaccurate and misleading
to look at statewide conservation
savings and arithmetically apply it to
the gap areas. This would assume that
saved water in other basins or other
geographic areas can or would be
delivered to gap areas.
4. A concern expressed by many water providers to
the implementation of water conservation
measures is that water conservation may be used
as a justification to delay the implementation of
structural projects that will ultimately be needed.
Though not discussed by the TRT, CWCB
believes that there may be a significant risk to
water providers in delaying the implementation of
identified projects and processes and other water
supply development that will be ultimately needed
even with successful implementation of water
conservation. Competition for scarce supplies,
cost escalation of water supply development, and
the increasing difficulty in permitting projects
suggest that delays in implementation may result
in the inability to develop the project at a later
date.
programs make other supply alternatives, such as
agricultural transfers and new reservoirs, more
palatable to all parties, including utility customers,
agricultural water users, environmental and
recreational interests and citizens, businesses, and
local government in neighboring river basins.
The "Gap" TRT should formulate alternatives,
including a "conservation-oriented alternative" for
addressing needs in specific "gap" areas, i.e., where
there is awell-defined likely shortfall by 2030.
Future efforts could involve formation of a sub-
committee, made up of some members of both the
Conservation and the Gap TRTs and perhaps
some members of the inter-basin compact
roundtables. These members could work together
to clarify how "current" (2000), more recent
(2006), and expected levels of water use will be
factored into the "gap" analysis, especially for areas
of the state expected to experience rapid growth
or to face difficulty in meeting demand This
information should also be provided to the
interbasin compact basin roundtables.
Both water conservation and structural projects
need to be implemented now, since both take time
to implement and produce the desired reduction in
demand or increase in yield. Structural projects
take time to permit and construct and
conservation takes time for market penetration.
An issue not discussed by the TRT, but identified
in the SW SI Report is that the implementation of
M~eI conservation will result in some reduction in
wastewater and lawn irrigation return flows. It is
likely that even without additional conservation,
M~eI water providers will continue to increase
their use of legally consumable return flows,
whether from lawn irrigation or wastewater
efIluent. This will inevitably result in reduced
supplies to downstream agricultural users who
have benefited from these increased flows over the
past 40 years.
6. Water conservation implementation should be
implemented concurrently with structural water
supply development. Effective conservation
PRELIMINARY DRAFT 6-13