CSIReportColoradoBasinRoundtable

• Working Group: Public Education, Participation and Outreach
• Title: Mapping the Colorado Basin Roundtable's Water Policy Networks
• Date: 3/1/2008
• Author: Colorado Institute of Public Policy
• Interbasin CC - Doc Type: General Resources

Mapping the Colorado Basin Rou ndtable’s Water Policy Networks
A
GRICULTURE
More so than any other cluster, the nineteen respondents in this cluster focus on
agricultural needs specifically and consum ptive needs in general. They want the
roundtable process to protect individual water rights and the prior appropriation doctrine. They
are not supportive of non-consumptive needs as a priority in the state. Those from the Western
Slope prioritize protecting Western Slope water from transmountain diversions.
Analysis of Survey Statements of Support: Members of this cluster are:
Highly supportive of cooperation among basins, balancing water supply and demand,
agricultural interests, and protecting existing individual water rights; and
Not supportive of water transfers to high growth sectors and non-consumptive needs.
Desired Outcomes of Colorado
Examples of Desired Outcomes of Colorado Basin
Basin Roundtable Respondents: All
Roundtable Respondents:
the Colorado Basin Roundtable
“No impact to water rights.”
members in this group support
“Preserve, protect, and enhance water availability in
protecting individual water rights,
western Colorado.”
and most emphasize Western
Slope needs. References to
“Non-consumptive uses should not expect special
cooperation and consensus are
attention to achieve their goals.”
also articulated, but within the
“Consumptive use is prioritized over non-consumptive
context of needing to preserve
use.”
individual water rights and meeting
consumptive water needs.
Examples of Desired Outcomes of
Desired Outcomes of External Respondents: No
External Respondents:
external stakeholders in this cluster live in the
“Keeping water for agricultural
Denver-metro area, but some live in the northern
production.”
and southern parts of the Front Range. Half of the
“Safeguarding the time-tested and
external stakeholders in this cluster are from the
generation-invested prior
Western Slope. The desired outcomes prioritized
appropriation doctrine.”
by these stakeholders heavily focus on agriculture,
consumptive use, protecting current rights, and
“Develop models that are beneficial
to agriculture.”
reuse of water. Some stakeholders also want to
increase stakeholder understanding of
“Limits on diversions from the West
consumptive and agriculture water issues and
Slope to the East Slope.”
protecting Western Slope water.

B N
ALANCING EEDS
The fifty respondents in this cluster are from throughout Colorado and prioritize a
wide range of water uses, including agricultural, municipal, environmental, and
recreational. They share in common a desire to develop a collaborative, inclusive process to
find cooperative solutions that meet multiple needs. They also emphasize the importance of
increasing knowledge individually and in the br oader water community. As many respondents
in this cluster do prioritize one need over another, their emphasis on cooperation may be based
in a pragmatic belief that their prioritized needs cannot be met unless all interests are being
included and addressed.
Colorado Institute of Public Policy 18 of 64