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Administering, Managing and Regulating 1Nater Colorado Water Conservation Board The Colorado General Assembly creat- ed this statewide board in 1937. Its pur- pose is to aid in the protection and devel- opment of the state's waters. The CWCB has 15 members. Four members are from the Western Slope and five members are from the Eastern Slope. Each of the state's major river basins is represented. Other members of the Board include the execu- tive director of the department of natural resources, attorney general, state engineer, commissioner of agriculture, and the director of the CWCB. The CWCB is responsible for flood control and protection, development of statewide water policy, and identifying and recommending water development proj- ects, among other duties. It also makes loans and grants available for the con- struction of water projects. In 1973, the State Legislature recog- nized the "need to correlate the activities of mankind with some reasonable preser- vation of the natural environment." It created the Instream Flow Program as part of the CWCB's responsibilities. Instream flows, according to legislative definition, are the flows or lake levels needed to preserve the natural environ- ment to a reasonable degree. Citizens can follow CWCB activities and find other useful information on its Web site at www.cwcb.state.co.us Local and Regional Water Management Agencies Local water management agencies include local water conservancy districts, water conservation districts, groundwater management districts, water and sanita- tion districts, towns and cities, and irriga- tion districts. Legislation for each of these types of water management entities spells out their roles and authority. Water conservancy districts are local government agencies originally created Instream flows, according to legislative definition, are the flows or lahe levels needed to preserve the natural environment to a reasonable degree. to construct, pay for, and operate water projects. There are 51 water conservancy districts in Colorado. A conservancy dis- trict may issue bonds and levy taxes and user fees. A water conservation district is a local policy-making body that the General Assembly created directly by statute to protect and develop the waters to which Colorado is entitled. Each conservation district covers a large geographical area and has a number of conservancy districts within it_ Conservation districts also have the power to issue bonds and levy taxes and user fees. There are currently three conservation districts in Colorado: Colorado River Water Conservation District, Rio Grande Water Conservation District, and Southwestern Water Conservation District. C I T I Z E N S G U I D E T^ C^ L^ R A D^ W A T E R LAW t g Trout are orrrong the species Chat: benefit from C:I~Iri CWCf3's h~i~~Cream Flow I'ro~rnrn.