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STATE OF COLORADO <br />Department of Natural Resources <br />Colorado Water Conservation Board <br />1313 Sherman Street, Room 721 <br />Denver, Colorado 80203 <br />FOREWORD <br />October 31, 2008 <br />Fellow Coloradans: <br />Bill Ritter, Jr. <br />Governor <br />Harris D. Sherman <br />Executive Director <br />Department of <br />Natural Resources <br />In 2005, the Colorado General Assembly passed HB OS-1177, The Colorado Water for the 21 st Century Act <br />and created a new collaborative process for addressing Colorado's water needs. This process, by setting up <br />the Interstate Basin Compact Committee (IBCC) and nine Basin Roundtables (BRTs), continued the <br />Department of Natural Resources water planning efforts that began with the Statewide Water Supply <br />Initiative (SWSI). The Interbasin Compact Process is intended to use the SWSI information and, through a <br />grassroots approach, foster inter-basin and intra-basin dialogue to create agreements that will lead to a more <br />secure water supply future for Colorado. <br />This report documents the progress and milestones achieved in 2008 and fulfills the requirement ofC.R.S. 37- <br />75-105(4) to report to the House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture, Livestock, and Natural <br />Resources and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Energy on the status of compact <br />negotiations by October 31st of each year. <br />The initial focus of the IBCC and BRTs was to identify members; create bylaws and set operational ground <br />rules. A primary task was to use the information gained in SWSI to educate BRT and IBCC members on the <br />challenges and needs of their basins. <br />In 2008, having accomplished the initial goal of creating a strong foundation, the BRTs and IBCC made <br />progress on several important substantive issues. During the past year, the Interbasin Compact Process <br />focused on four key goals: <br />1. Create a vision for Colorado's water supply future and begin discussions on strategies to help meet that <br />vision. <br />2. Develop a more comprehensive understanding of the water needs in each basin through basin-wide water <br />needs assessments. <br />3. Use the Water Supply Reserve Account (WSRA) to implement projects and water activities that help <br />address the water needs in each basin. <br />4. Engage and educate the general public regarding our water future. <br />The progress made toward each goal is briefly outlined below. More detailed information about each of these <br />activities is provided in the attached newsletters.