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By Sharon Sullivan Free Press Staff Writer June 2, 2008 How will energy development affect future water supplies in western Colorado? How will continued Front Range growth impact agricultural and other water users on the Western Slope? The Colorado Basin Roundtable is seeking input from the community on these and other issues affecting the Colorado River at a town hall meeting to be held from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Two Rivers Convention Center. House Bill 1177, Colorado Water for the 21st Century, was established in 2005 to discuss water issues throughout Colorado. Nine roundtables were formed, including the Colorado Basin Roundtable, for the purpose of conducting a water needs assessment for the basin, analyze unappropriated water, propose projects for meeting future needs and keeping the public informed on water issues. The Colorado Basin Roundtable is comprised of 30-some members representing municipalities, environmental interests, agriculture and irrigation districts, said Rod Sharp, an agriculture economist with the Colorado State University Extension Service, and a liaison to the roundtable. Representatives from Mesa County make up about six to eight members of the roundtable, Sharp said. Sen. Josh Penry will introduce the meeting, followed by update on the current water situation by Jim Pokrandt of the Colorado River District, and an explanation of the roundtables by Dick Proctor, manager of the Grand Valley Water Users Association. At 7 p.m., John Redifer of Mesa State College will lead a public discussion along with a panel comprised of Colorado basin roundtable members. Discussion topics include: • What do you want Colorado to look like in 50 years? • What water supply alternatives would support the Colorado you would like to see? • Statewide, there will be competing uses for a limited water supply. What trade-offs would you consider regarding municipal/industrial, agricultural, energy and environmental/recreational water uses? • Would you want significant reductions in water for agriculture? • The town hall meeting is a way to get people talking about ways to protect Mesa County's water usage, Sharp said. By SENTINEL STAFF Tuesday, June 03, 2008 Water officials will seek out suggestions for supplying Colorado's growing water needs over the next half-century in a town hall meeting today at Two Rivers Convention Center. The Colorado River Basin Roundtable will host the meeting, which will include discussion of the history of basin roundtables, as well as a call for discussion of the future. Members of the roundtable will discuss what they would like to see happen in the next 50 years, how to divide the state's waters among regions and among uses, such as agriculture, industry, energy, domestic, recreation and the environment. The public meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the center's Whitewater Room. BY MARIJA B. VADER FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER June 5, 2008 People in western Colorado have been talking about how to best use the basin's limited supply of water for the future, water watchers in the Colorado River Basin discussed Wednesday.