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<br />The Water Resources Committee recommended and the Council later approved three r vised position
<br />statements, one in the form of a letter in support of legislation specifically authorizing creatio of a National
<br />Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS); a second resolution reiterating the Council's support for
<br />enactment of a National Drought Preparedness Act; and a revised position statement in support 0 the Bureau of
<br />Reclamation's Water Conservation Field Services Program, as well as implementation of th Bridging-the-
<br />Headgate Partnership, which includes both the Council and the Bureau. The Committee meetin also included
<br />two panels, one discussing Farm Bill conservation programs and their use to improve estern water
<br />management, and a second on federal water resources related information programs (USGS ~treamgaging,
<br />NRCS snow surveys and water supply forecasting, USGS/NASA Landsat thermal data use to estimate
<br />evapotranspiration and monitor water use in the West, and federal-state climate science part erships). The
<br />Committee approved a letter reiterating Council support for Landsat thermal monitoring, The Co ps presented
<br />information on its portfolio of water programs, and its Western Watershed Study was discussed futher. Other
<br />topics included weather modification, rural water needs, water conservation, federal water infra tructure loan
<br />guarantees and pending legislation.
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<br />The Legal Committee had no items for Council action, but reviewed the U.S. Supreme Court's ecision in the
<br />Rapanos and Carabell cases related to the Clean Water Act and wetlands protections; the current tatus of State
<br />water export laws, and the future of Indian water rights settlements with Jennifer Gimbel, Cha r of the U.S.
<br />Department of Interior's Working Group. The Committee also considered draft work products by WSWC legal
<br />interns on legal considerations related to water conservation incentives and water banks. Both wer praised. The
<br />Committee meeting concluded with state reports on various legal developments.
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<br />The Executive Committee discussed sunsetting positions, and approved renewal of a resolutio asking that
<br />U.S. parties to a general adjudication be subject to the same state-imposed fees as any private wate user.
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<br />Of note, with the election of new officers, changes have been made to Committee leadersh p. While Bill
<br />Staudenmaier has agreed to continue to chair the Legal Committee, new leadership was appoint d, with Joan
<br />Card, Director of Arizona's Water Quality Division, chairing the Water Quality Committee, and Phil ard, Director
<br />of the Oregon Water Resources Department, taking the lead for the Water Resources Committee.
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<br />On July 21, the full Council, meeting for the 151s1 time, accepted the Committee reports anp adopted a
<br />number of resolutions, letters and policy statements as revised and recommended (readopting ~, number of
<br />sunsetting positions). Colorado presented information on various water issues and its Statewide \l\('ater Supply
<br />Initiative. Rick Brown, with the Colorado Water Conservation Board, described the public participation process
<br />used to bring state and local interests together to agree on water supply issues facing each basintnd identify
<br />means of addressing future challenges. Of note, the process is predicated on the understanding that 0 one basin
<br />can solve its water supply problems at the expense of another basin. Russ Brown, Executive Dir ctor of the
<br />Colorado Department of Natural Resources, discussed the establishment of Interbasin Compact ommittees
<br />(with interstate water compacts as a model) to help reach agreements between basins within teState of
<br />Colorado. Lastly, Roger PUlwarty, with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) addressed
<br />understanding climate change.
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<br />Mr. Brown noted that Colorado is a party to nine interstate compacts and two apportionm nt decrees
<br />governing water use. Water originating in Colorado flows through eighteen other states. At present, otal use in
<br />Colorado is around 2.7 million acre-feet (Maf) compared to the State's entitlement of about 3.4 Ma~ThOU9h it
<br />would appear to have surplus water, Colorado is one of the fastest growing states in the Nation. Furth r, its water
<br />supplies and population are not distributed Proportionately. Some 80% of Colorado's water is on the est Slope
<br />(of the Continental Divide), while 80% of its people live along the Front Range (east slope of the Ro kies). The
<br />Statewide Water Supply Initiative (SWSI) is an attempt to begin to deal with future water supply challenges in a
<br />collaborative manner through a number of basinwide roundtables. The process is intended to be in lusive and
<br />open, respecting local land and water use decisions, with an open mind towards future solutions to gro ing water
<br />problems. There have been 75 public meetings throughout the State, compiling information and identi ing issues
<br />and concerns, but the process has not yet reached the planning stage.
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<br />Mr. Brown, a popular former Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives, observed he rew up in
<br />Rifle, Colorado on the West Slope with historical pioneer roots and the attitude that "government shou d stay out
<br />of my life and especially my water'" Colorado politics and its legal system limit the role of state government.
<br />Colorado has never undertaken anything like the SWSI before. 'Where are we headed in the future?' "Can we
<br />avoid a crisis?" "What will be the role of state government," were some of the questions he asked. Ther seems to
<br />be public recognition of the fact that we have to address these questions, collaboratively. The futur appears
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