9369 ‎(2)‎

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 9369
• Author: Colorado Water Workshop.
• Title: 12th & 13th Annual Colorado Water Workshop.
• USFW Year: 1987.
• USFW - Doc Type: Western State College of Colorado.
• Copyright Material: NO

The Ties That Bind:
Systems
Daniel F. Luecke and

Physical and Economic Linkages Among Colorado's Water Resources

David W. Fanning - Environmental Defense Fund
Introduction

The economic history of any region is determined by its natural
resources, its climate, its topography and, often, by chance. As the economy
of a region (like a state) grows, it moves beyond subsistence and becomes more
integrated with surrounding regions. The same phenomenon occurs within
regions as basic industries like mining, manufacturing, and sometimes
agriculture create the demand for transportation and other infrastructure and
the variety of services that accompany a region's growth. Costs are reduced,
bottlenecks eliminated and further economic development facilitated. In
Colorado, this drama has been played out in little more than 100 years. Where
Colorado goes from here depends to some extent on how it reached its current
level of development, how it allocates its resources and energies in the
future, and how it manages the subregion linkages that have become
increasingly important over time.

Colorado's geography has made it, literally, the roof of the United
States. As Coloradans are fond of pointing out, four major river systems
(Colorado, Sout.h Platte, Arkansas, and Rio Grande) and seven minor ones (North
Platte, Laramie, Republican, San Juan, Animas, White and Yampa) originate in
Colorado (Foss, 1978). In total, t.he average annual flow of surface water in
the State is about 16 mi 11 ion acre-feet. A ma,jority of that water flows out
of the State to pass through or form t.he boundary of 18 other states. To
protect its interests in a share of this water, Colorado is party to almost
half the existing interstate water allocation compact.s and retains a claim to
5.5 million of the 16 million acre--feet flowing in its streams (Foss, 1978).
(In addition, Colorado has an estimated 2 billion acre feet of recoverable
ground water ill the State [Tregat'then, 1983]).

Colorado does not. currently use aU the surface water to which it is
entitled, especially in the Colorado River Basin, and there are feat'S that
lower basin st.ates, principally California and Arizona, will use Colorado's
water and be unwilling to relinquish it when Colorado wants to develop it. Of
the water Colorado does use, 80 percent. is used for irrigation and 20 percent
is allocated for municipal, industrial and other uses (Foss, 1978).

It. is an almost unchallenged tenet of semi-arid states like Colorado that
economic development and water development are inextricably linked to one
another. The idea is simple: economic development depends on a substantial
and cheap source of water. No one will argue that water is not a factor in
economic growth--water must obviously be available for growth to occur. But
Colorado economic history makes it clear that other factors have greater
importance. Today, western water is no longer just another commodity. There
is an appreciation for its intrinsic life and beauty and a growing awareness
that water in the stream may be as valuable in the economic context of the
State as water diverted or stored for "beneficial use".

The purpose of this paper is to trace a few of the physical and economic
factors that have shaped economic development in the State and to identify the
relationship between those factors and the development of water systems.
Historically, water developers were constrained only by the prior
appropriations doctrine. Today, more is at stake. Water development has
implications for every region of the State. Water used along the Front Range
affects skiers in Summit County, hotel owners in Glenwood Springs, farmers and
ranchers in Grand Junction, and maybe most importantly, the economic interests
of Colorado itself.

Presented for Colorado Water Workshop, July 27-29, 1987
Western State College, Gunnison, CO

***See authors
note on last page.***

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