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Mapping the Colorado Basin Rou ndtable’s Water Policy Networks <br />5 <br />Section 2: Respondents’ Values <br />The 164 survey respondents were asked many different questions to understand better their <br />values related to water policy and management in Colorado. Analyzing the answers to their <br />questions, the respondents fell into five distinct clusters, each with its own characteristic values <br />and desired outcomes from the Colorado Basin Roundtable and HB1177 process. The <br />description below provides a rich overview of each cluster, a comparison between them, and <br />specific details about the Colorado Basin Roundtable respondents as compared to other <br />respondents. These clusters will be used throughout the remainder of the report to understand <br />better the survey responses from the Colorado Basin roundtable and the other stakeholders in <br />the water policy and management community that they identified. <br />Defining Different Values <br />The water roundtables are a means of gathering people together whose values may be in <br />conflict. Though it is not possible to make all values compatible, it is necessary to make <br />decisions that include a wide array of interests. Explicitly recognizing the role that values play in <br />the decision-making process is a useful starting point for tackling water challenges. Not only <br />does it allow for a search for commonalities, but also creates an opportunity to understand <br />assumptions that underlie solutions brought to the table by different interests. <br />To begin this exploration of values, respondents were asked for their level of support, from <br />strongly agree to strongly disagree, for the following nine statements related to priorities for the <br />6 <br />HB1177 roundtable process to address. <br /> Allocation and management of water resources through the market; <br /> Protecting existing individual water rights; <br /> Water transfers to high growth areas/sectors; <br /> Balancing water supplies and demands; <br /> Increasing cooperation among water basins; <br /> Protecting the agricultural economy and way of life; <br /> Protecting the recreational economy and its water needs; <br /> Protecting ecosystems and non-human species (or just the environment); and <br /> Balancing the water demands between consumptive uses and non-consumptive uses. <br />Answers to the nine statements were analyzed using cluster analysis (see Appendix A) which <br />identified five distinct groups of individuals who represent different values. Membership in the <br />clusters has no relationship to the affiliations that respondents reported, but rather, is based <br />entirely on responses to the nine statements on priorities that are listed above. The clusters are: <br /> Protecting Consumptive Needs; <br /> Agriculture; <br />  <br />5 <br /> Details of the data on respondent values can be found in Appendix A, Tables A2.1 – A2.13 <br />6 <br />The focus areas and the statements were derived from the Statewide Water Supply Initiative report (CDM, 2004), a <br />Colorado Institute of Public Policy report (2006), and discussions with key stakeholders. <br /> <br />Colorado Institute of Public Policy 16 of 64 <br />