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WATER RIGHTS Following its formation in 1970, one of the primary charges of the Municipal Subdistrict was acquiring the condi- tional water rights for the diversion of water from the Colorado River. In the spring of 1974 a special referee, based on the evidence present- ed two years earlier, rec- ommended that the court grant conditional decrees for the Windy Gap Project. Four years later, the district court in Glenwood Springs agreed and granted the conditional decrees for Windy Gap water rights. Water Conservancy Act„ under which the District and the Subdistrict were created, mandates that any conservancy district seeking to divert Colorado River water out of its native basin assure that diversion does not impair the water rights of users within that basin. The Act in effect requires that water storage pro- jects be designed and constructed to "compen- sate" the Western Slope for Colorado River trans- mountain water diver- sions by water conser- vancy districts. The CRWCD immediately appealed to the Colorado Supreme Court. The state Supreme Court referred the case back to the District Court in the fall of 1979 for further defi- nition of the Subdistrict's Windy Gap proposal. The high court took this action to protect the Western Slope from any adverse effects that might be caused by the Windy Gap Project. The This issue was resolved through provisions nego- tiated in the 1980 Windy Gap Settlement Agreement. The Subdistrict agreed to provide mitigation mea- sures. The court granted conditional decrees totaling 600 cubic feet per second for the Windy Gap Project on Oct. 27, 1980. That quantity was confirmed in a final absolute decree nearly a decade later following construction and opera- tion of the Project. This is a project that is best for our future. It is best for our children's future, and it is best for the future of our state of Colorado. 99 Colorado Sen. Hank Brown WINDY GAP PROJECT 7 The Windy Gap inlet chute at Lake Granby is 425 feet in length