9359 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Executive Summary "Water is the true wealth in a dry land," - Wallace Stegner It is impossible to imagine Colorado without envisioning snow capped mountains and cascading streams. Yet today, after years of decline, Colorado's rivers and streams are losing more and more of the water they need to support life both under the surface and in surrounding watersheds. Many factors, old and new, contribute to the problem, While annual precipitation and snowpack are natural forces beyond control, the human institutions that affect Colorado's waters could change in response to evolving needs. Whether and how we surmount the challeI,lge of adapting Colorado's water laws and polic~es will have much to do with how our children and grandchildren find Colorado. A dry legacy or rushing rivers full of life? The choice is ours. This report uses 10 case studies to highlight the range of impacts on Colorado's waterways. It briefly examines the elements of the water law system that have allowed the current problem to develop, While the law provides certainty for water users, it rarely recognizes any inherent value in natural aquatic systems. The report describes the many reasons why water is in such short supply, The~tate population is exploding so there is more demand for water both for consumption and for'Uses lik~wateriilg, lawns, Agricultural irrigation still accountsfor".':> nearly 90 percent of Colora~?,~~water consumption.' Additional demand comes from an expanding " recreational industry, including irrigated golf courses and snowmaking machines. Hydropower also taxes Colorado's dwindling water resources by diverting or , , storing the narural flows of rivers. Colorado's water law system recognizes the validity of all of these uses - yet it does not balance these uses with the natural needs of streams and in fact allows for rivers to be dried up completely, tapped until they literally have nothing left to give. The report provides information about how depleted strearnflows adversely affect the environment, ecosystem health and our quality of life, Low flows jeopardize not only fish, but also wildlife that rely on riparian vegetation; water quality that depends upon adequate volumes of water to dilute natural and introduced pollutants, and the natural beauty of rivers that makes them important draws for tourism. These negative impacts, in turn, have far-reaching economic, social, and quality of life impacts, Fortunately, there are solutions - some within the existing system arid some new (the latter. mostly borrowed from states 'with similar water law: systems). This report offers strategies that could not only help the affected waters recover, but prevent additional future losses in Colorado's rivers and creeks. Some solutions involve expanding the rights of property owners; some involve new conditions on the use of water. Solutions require action from many different entities, For example, water conservation is a matter for individuals as well as water providers. Also, all levels of government must be involved. Finally, nothing is possible without increasing all Colora~oans' level of awareness of the problems facing the state's waters. "i~" Trout Unlimited prepared this repor1:~~both a . wake-up call and a call to action.Wateris precious~ , . Every living .thing - human, animal and plant alike . - needs water to survive, Butonly humans can act as stewards for this resource; TU hopes this report will help promote a stewardship ethic among all Coloradoans. .