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Rio Grande Basin <br />Steve Vandiver <br />Status Quo <br />• If we are going to have this discussion, we need to realize that the <br />developers/lobbyists are the most powerful people in the legislature, so we need to <br />be realistic in our discussion. <br />• As long as growth is allowed to continue, we have not learned any lessons from S. <br />California or the East Coast. <br />• Unlimited growth is unsustainable. To continue to allow unlimited growth is short- <br />sighted and foolish. <br />• Need to discuss land use planning and regional planning. Do we want to look like <br />Southern California? Want discussion to look at hard questions. <br />• All pipelines lead to the Front Range. <br />• Why not incentivize people to move all over the state, create opportunities on the <br />Western Slope, eastern and southern Colorado. <br />• Sprawl from Front Range to Pueblo miserable place to live, gridlock and place <br />enormous burden on the people of the state to support. <br />Alternative <br />• If water is transferred from a rural area we need to replace it with economic vitality <br />and something besides a prison. <br />• Site-specific additional storage for drought protection, and new growth, if <br />necessary. <br />• Why are we developing houses on the best farm land in the state? Need to be <br />thoughtful about developing houses on irreplaceable agricultural ground. <br />• Do need to be able to feed ourselves. Preserve as much agricultural ground as <br />possible. <br />• Treatment and reuse of effluent needs to be a requirement. <br />• Consider minimalization of new high altitude diversions to maintain ecosystems. <br />• Utilization of compact obligations to meet instream flows. This may require new <br />storage to handle that. <br />• The effect of conservation efforts are exaggerated, to rely heavily on conservation <br />is short-sighted. Historically people's water supply has come from return flows. <br />100% consumptive use would not be good. A lot of wetlands and riparian areas are <br />a direct result of tailwater and return flows. Conservation will impact this first and <br />foremost. <br />• Stop using new home starts as the basis for economic health. <br />18 <br />I:\INTERBASIN COMPACT COMMITTEEWISIONS FOR COLORADO WATER SUPPLY FUTURE\RESPONSES TO VISIONING AND MARCH MEETING\IBCC REPRESENTATIVE COMMENTS.DOC