Agenda Item 12

• Board Meeting Date: 3/18/2008
• Description: CF Section - Review of Porposed Policy #18 - Water Management Partnership Program
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

STATE OF COLORADO
Colorado Water Conservation Board
Department of Natural Resources
1313 Sherman Street, Room 721
Denver, Colorado 80203
Phone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
www.cwcb.state.co.us
TO: Colorado Water Conservation Board Members
FROM: Mike Serlet, P.E., Chief ~~~
Water Supply Planning an Finance Section
DATE: March 11, 2008
Bill Ritter, Jr.
Governor
Hams D. Sherman
DNR Executive Director
Jennifer L. Gimbel
CWCB Director
Dan McAuliffe
CWCB Deputy Director
SUBJECT: Agenda Item 12 -March 18-19, 2008, Board Meeting
Water Supply Planning and Finance Section -Review of Proposed Policy #18
Water Management Partnership Program
Introduction
At the November 2007 Board Meeting, the Board reviewed Financial Policy #18
regarding the proposed Water Management Partnership Program (WMPP). As a result of that
review, the Board resolved to support the "concept" of Policy #18, and requested staff to
continue to develop more detailed criteria and guidelines for administration of the program. It is
the intent of the Board to continue to review and discuss program provisions and make a final
determination sometime during the year whether to move the program forward with statutory
amendments or remove the policy from further consideration. This agenda item presents
modified Policy #18 language as a result of input from various water interests. It is intended
only as a discussion item.
Discussion
Jennifer Gimbel and I have presented and discussed this proposed WMPP with the
Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District, the Front Range Water Council, several
environmental organizations, and the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District (March 14)
since the January Board meeting. It is staff's intention to continue to present the WMPP and
receive input from the Colorado River. Water Conservation District, the Southwestern Water
Conservation District, Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District, various roundtables
and other interested groups over the next several months.
It is obvious in our recent discussions with water groups that the WMPP concept has
been received with various. degrees of acceptance, suspicion, misunderstanding, curiosity,
contempt, approval, and confusion. We have tried to incorporate some of the ideas from the
various agencies into revisions to the original proposed WMPP policy to clarify some issues and
in general describe the concept more clearly.
Water Supply Protection • Flood Protection • Stream & Lake Protection • Water Supply Planning & Finance
Water Conservation & Drought Planning • Intrastate Water Management & Development