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CHAPTER FOUR: <br />COLORAI)O ENTERS THE FEDERAL NEXUS <br />The South Platte river heads in high mountains southwest of Denver and then flows <br />through the northeast quadrant of C'olorado, the Missouri River Basin's most urbanized state. <br />(See Figure 5). <br />COLORADO <br />HISTORIC AVERAGE ANNUAL STREAM FLOWS <br />(acre-feet) '°°'°°° <br />316,900 <br />119.900 <br />W 92 <br />288.500 100.700 <br />1.858.000 ? Cy?.? <br />781.300 <br />ST <br />? 32.2&1 <br />NORTHFORK <br />REPUBLICNI <br />500100 334,lW s?.ao <br />BW ? <br />419,900 v?v? t3,sao " <br />r o,zsoo ?ct Neo?' ? <br />' rtonaxuo s?' a <br />? FORK ? <br />O y <br />.000 n <br />LL 4.632 <br />U <1 <br />? 1.888.000 <br />Q 573,100 <br />3 ? <br />o $ <br />zn.aoo <br />w ? <br />3 174,100% ? 183,200 <br />Confinental Divide <br />? 49.860 <br />CANEJO 328.400 <br />? <br />27d,100 .400 <br />\ 188}B00 180 <br />880,500 301.400 <br />TOTqLLEAVfNGCOLOR400 10,726,000a1 <br />dapted from: Of6ce of the State Engineer, <br />IColorado Division of Water Resources Hydrogiraphic Brmch 2000 Revisiou <br />Figure 5 Colorado water outflows, major rivers <br />The Front Range, much of which is watered by the South Platte and its tributaries, is a 160 mile <br />long metropolitan stretch along the eastern slope of the Rockies. It is home to 80 % of the state's <br />residents and has a rapidly growinl; economy fueled by corporate energy enterprises, the largest <br />complex of federal agencies outside of Washington, D.C., universities, tourism, high-tech and <br />service industries. Scarce water supplies and high demand by agriculture and subsequent urban <br />needs prompted the construction o1f major transmountain diversions from the West slope of <br />Colorado to supplement native floivs. Transmountain diversions have been: <br />1. traditionally in the s;ervice of agriculture, but in recent years have significantly <br />shifted to serve derriands of the metropolitan areas; <br />19