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Section 6 <br />Implementation and Recommendations for Colorado's Water Supply Future <br />Conflicts concerning the use of Colorado River water <br />and the management of Colorado River system <br />reservoirs are increasing. The 2002 drought has <br />brought many of these conflicts and concerns to the <br />forefront and Colorado must be prepared to protect <br />its interests and rights to the use of the Colorado <br />River. Negotiations to address these concerns have <br />been extremely difficult. The 7-Basin States have <br />reached preliminary agreement on how to address <br />shortage criteria and coordinated operations of Lake <br />Powell and Lake Mead. That agreement along with <br />proposed interim shortage guidelines have been <br />transmitted by the 7-States to the U.S. Bureau of <br />Reclamation (BOR). However, this agreement still <br />contains some uncertainty regarding outstanding <br />issues. Moreover, as the Department of Interior (DOI) <br />and BOR develop the EIS associated with these <br />shortage criteria and coordinated reservoir <br />operations, Colorado will be required to continue to <br />participate in the discussions. Litigation may still <br />occur in the future regarding the Law of the Colorado <br />River, but the Interim Shortage Guidelines will <br />hopefully allay such through 2025. Colorado should <br />be prepared to address future litigation related issues. <br />Resources should continue to be provided to <br />accomplish necessary technical and legal research. <br />Funding endangered species recovery and <br />preservation activities will remain a critical goal to <br />ensure existing and future water uses are protected or <br />can proceed. Recovery Programs for the Upper <br />Colorado River Basin and the San Juan River Basin <br />will continue to implement recovery actions that will <br />provide that protection. In addition the DOI has <br />recently released a Final Environmental Impact <br />Statement (FEIS), Biological Opinion (BO), and <br />Record of Decision (ROD) evaluating the Platte River <br />Recovery Implementation Program. <br />The Colorado Attorney General requested and the <br />Board has approved $750,000 to support case <br />resolution in the Kansas vs. Colorado litigation that <br />will support water accounting activities and other <br />compliance-related actions regarding the Arkansas <br />River Compact Work continues in several of the <br />major expense areas that included: $100,000 for <br />expert witness preparation, $250,000 for irrigation <br />efficiency studies, $100,000 for weather station <br />enhancement, and $300,000 for construction of two <br />lycimeters and initial operation and all activities are <br />expected to be completed within budget. The CWCB <br />reported to the Colorado General Assembly on use of <br />the litigation account funds in January 2007 and will <br />do so again in January 2007. The initial set of <br />lycimeter experiments are scheduled to begin in <br />spring of 2007. Data collected from these experiments <br />and the other studies will be used to refine depletion <br />calculations in the Hydrologic Institution Model. The <br />State Engineer and the CWCB are exploring <br />opportunities to obtain long-term federal research <br />funding for the lycimeter installation at Rocky Ford. <br />A request for federal funding was submitted to <br />Senator Salazar and meetings have been held with <br />U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) - <br />Agricultural Research Service. <br />Development of energy resources in Colorado has <br />increased over the last several years and is likely to <br />increase further if fuel costs remain high This activity <br />may result in water quality issues and other impacts <br />that will need to be addressed through water quality <br />programs such as the Colorado River Salinity Control <br />Program. The energy development will also provide <br />the state with additional severance tax revenue to <br />help offset the impacts of some of the development. <br />Work to quantify the remaining federal reserved <br />water rights for the Black Canyon of the Gunnison <br />National Park and for Forest Service lands in Water <br />Division 7 will continue in order to help define where <br />and how much water remains for development in <br />areas affected by these water right filings and decrees. <br />Instream Flow and Natural Lake <br />Protection Section <br />This Section will move forward with both new junior <br />and acquired water <br />right filings to preserve Highlights: <br />or improve the natural . Nonconsumptive Uses <br />environment to a <br />reasonable degree. As a <br />result of the passage of <br />HB 07-1012, staff will <br />continue to pursue <br />• Instream Flow Program <br />• Explore Identify <br />Opportunities for Water <br />Rights Acquisition <br />PRELIMINARY DRAFT 6-7 <br />