9377

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 9377
• Author: Colorado Water Workshop.
• Title: 16th Annual Colorado Water Workshop.
• USFW Year: 1991.
• USFW - Doc Type: Western State College.
• Copyright Material: NO

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individual and a community learning process. An appropriate process is
needed and indeed the involvement of other more remote interests
potentially affected by a water transfer need to be a part of it. The'
process helps achieve adjustment to change. Its location should be within
the community with provisions to enable remote participation. This
requires time but not necessarily lots of financial resources. However.
the market is often impatient.

C. Practicalities

1. Water As A Marketable Product ---- At some point soon in
discussing water marketing. there needs to be consideration for exactly the
product or products to be marketed. This is all the more important given
the increasing diversity of uses and users. People do not just buy water.
To be marketed successfully. a product has to be at the right place, at the
right time, in the right condition, in the right amount, and at the right
price. Water is not just water - as you do not want simply food when
dining out.

2. Reduction Or Loss Of Tax Base ---- Concern for this was
frequently expressed in Larry's cases. This concern requi.res careful study
in each situation. Direct property tax base loss to local government as a
result of water transfers may not be very significant. All of agriculture
in Gunnison County represents about 4% of the assessed valuation and one
hotel in Mt. Crested Butte was recently paying more in property taxes than
all of agriculture. However, secondary property tax losses many be more
significant. Various property tax breaks given to particular industries
and generally for economic development will influence the significance of
any impacts.

3. Market Price ---- In an open water market, the market clearing
price will probably not be nearly as high as some water goes for now in the
politically regulated reallocation process. Soon after its opening. the
water market will become fairly dull. Conservation in response to price
will occur and new supply alternatives will be found. Market regulation
seldom helps resolve supply shortages. All this can mean disappointment to
some of those now depending financially on an artificially high value of
their water assets.
Creating large districts to reduce individual municipal water farming
and competative speculation, as advocated by some included in Larry's
study, may simply create another bureaucracy to fight and impede~market
efficiency in reallocat.l.on. It is also likely to result in higher prices
paid for water.

4. Product Distribution ----- Marketed water should reach its new
users and uses by first going downstream tQrough its basin of origin or
present use and then being sent to its new destination. There is no longer
justification for diversion from the headwaters given the utilization of
water concurrently and sequentially, diverted and instream, in the complex
ecology of uses and users as the water flows down through its basin of
origin. There will be far fewer proplems perceived in the transfer and
less disturbance of sensitive interests if the distribution of the marketed
product is from the state line.