Front Range Water Council Response

• Title: Front Range Water Council Response to Visioning
• Date: 2/26/2008
• Interbasin CC - Doc Type: Correspondence/Memos

• There will by lower average stream flows downstream of metropolitan areas due to
entities making greater use of available reuse or consumptive use water.
• Utilization of lower quality water for municipal and industrial purposes will present
treatment and brine disposal challenges; however, advanced technologies may be
available to clean-up marginal quality waters (meet SDWA requirements) while avoiding
RO brine disposal concerns.
• There will be increased use of short term leasing/fallowing programs and interruptible
supply arrangements depending upon the continued economic sustainability of
agricultural production (including energy production/biofuels); however, because of the
institutional barriers to long-term leasing and fallowing programs, municipal and
domestic water purveyors seeking permanent water supplies will continue to pursue "buy
and dry" alternatives.
• "Regional" water suppliers and water supplies will be established where needed, with
joint use of infrastructure, shared storage, water wheeling contracts, extra-territorial
service contracts, etc.
• There will be increased consolidation of water suppliers, driven by financial, technical
and managerial issues.
• There will be a closer integration of water supply planning and operations with effluent
treatment and disposal decision making.
• The Front Range could be the recipient of at least one major Colorado River basin
diversion project and/or new pump-back project. The success of such projects will be
determined over the next five to ten years and will hinge on the success of the IBCC
process and the leadership of the water community and the State of Colorado.
• Additional local regulatory storage will be constructed and integrated within regionalized
water systems as appropriate; such storage will assist in managing both transferred water
and increased urban run-off
• Re-operation/expansion of existing federal facilities will occur to maximize the use of
existing infrastructure.
• There will be increased urban density due to local land use decisions and the need to
control water rates.
• Municipalities will achieve "full cost pricing" of water, with significantly higher user
rates to cover increased raw water and capitol project costs (with limited state and federal
funding contributions).
• There will be additional threatened and endangered species constraints in order to protect
aquatic and terrestrial species; this may include litigation with downstream states.
• There will be additional water quality regulatory constraints (both CWA and SDWA)
upon water development and distribution activities, limiting supplies and increasing
costs.
• Certain areas will reduce or eliminate, of necessity, their reliance on nonrenewable
groundwater sources, thereby increasing demand on renewable supplies.
• There may be a significant decrease in the groundwater accretions to the stream
(groundwater return flows or stream gains) because of the reduction or elimination of
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