Rio Grande - Rio Grande Initiative_Application_2008

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USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), NA WCA, GOCO, the CDOW and many more. WSRA funds would provide critical matching funds for this effort. 2) The water activity underwent an evaluation and approval process and was approved by the Basin Roundtable (BRT) and the application includes a description of the results ofthe BRTs evaluation and approval of the activity. At a minimum, the description must include the level of agreement reached by the roundtable, including any minority opinion(s) if there was not general agreement for the activity. The description must also include reasons why general agreement was not reached (if it was not), including who opposed the activity and why they opposed it. Note- If this information is included in the letter from the roundtable chair simply reference that letter. The Rio Grande Initiative has the strong support from the Rio Grande Basin Round Table, as our members realize the vital role of the river corridor and its senior surface water rights to our water sustainability as a whole. The members recognize that the need is urgent and the timing is critical-and that the opportunity to protect a large portion of the Rio Grande must be enacted now, if we are to meet our long term water needs. This revised version of our application includes a commitment of$200,000, a full 20% of our entire Basin allocation, towards this overall request. This demonstrates the strong commitment to this effort from our Round Table members. Please see the attached letter from the Round Table Chairman, Mike Gibson, describing the unanimous support of this application from our membership. The dissenting voter from our previous application joined the rest of the representatives in support of this project. 3) The water activity meets the provisions of Section 37-75-104(2), Colorado Revised Statutes. The requirements/language from the statute is provided in Part 3 ofthe Criteria and Guidelines. While the Rio Grande Basin, along with all Basins in Colorado, is currently in the process of developing both the consumptive and non-consumptive needs assessment, the SWSI Water Supply and Needs Report for the Rio Grande Basin from June 2006 addressed both of these aspects. Following is an analysis of how the Rio Grande Initiative's water activity addresses the SWSI findings. SWSI on Consumotive Needs Section 5 on Consumptive Water Needs in the Rio Grande Basin discusses the anticipated shift of agricultural water uses to municipal and industrial uses. It is already clear that the SL V must reduce its irrigated agricultural area substantially in order to restore and sustain the aquifers we depend upon. This serious effort is underway through the Rio Grande Water Conservation District's formation of Ground Water Management Subdistricts as authorized by SB222 and SB220 and this effort is fully supported by the Rio Grande Basin Round Table (including the allocation of Basin funds in support of this effort). In this process, it is vital that appropriate agricultural lands are retired and appropriate ones are sustained in production and with their historic water use patterns intact. Key to this is retaining the senior surface water rights and historic water use patterns along the Rio Grande corridor. The historic patterns that support traditional consumptive uses along the river are increasingly being understood, including through the current study funded by the WSRA on the hydraulic divide and through long term observation of many local experts and landowners. All indicators point to the critical need to keep historic river corridor water use patterns in place for the following functions: . Filling and protecting the function of the "sponge" along the river corridor - i.e. the riparian wetlands which are sustained through intermittent floods and agricultural diversions that retain water from the higher spring river flows for slower release and return flows which are critical to: Page 9 of 32 Rio Grande Initiative Janual'Y 2008