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WRITTEN TESTIMONY OF DAVID H. MERRITT CONCERNING <br />THE APPLICATION FOR WATER RIGHTS FOR A RECREATIONAL <br />IN-CHANNEL DIVERSION OF THE TOWN OF SILVERTHORNE <br />IN SUMMIT COUNTY, CASE NO. 04CW217 <br />JUNE 17, 2005 <br />I hereby submit the following written testimony for the July 20, 2005 Hearing <br />before the Colorado Water Conservation Board ("CWCB") regarding the Town of <br />Silverthorne's application for a Recreational In-Channel Diversion water right ("RICD"). <br />I respectfully request the ability to provide additional testimony at the Hearing. <br />1. PROPOSED PROJECTS TO MEET FUTURE WATER DEMANDS <br />In conjunction with numerous governmental and water agencies, the Colorado <br />River Water Conservation District ("River District") has been working since the fa11 of <br />1998 in a cooperative effort to identify present and future demands and potential supplies <br />in the Colorado River Basin upstream of Kremmling as part of the Upper Colorado River <br />Project Study ("UPCO"). Particularly relevant to this filing are the future demands <br />above this RICD, (both in basin and out of basin) as well as the supplies and water rights <br />available to meet these demands. Upper Summit County is a very rapidly growing area, <br />with projected demands for in-basin use out pacing supplies by 2030. It is also a region <br />which is heavily impacted by current and future transbasin diversions to the Metropolitan <br />Denver area. These two factors combined create a"hydrologic train wreck" for water <br />users above Dillon Dam, with little water available for future growth. <br />The Upper Colorado River Project Study ("UPCO") Report, dated May 29, 2003, <br />highlighted the fact that by the year 2030, existing supplies would not satisfy future <br />demands in Summit and Grand Counties. UPCO Executive Summary at v, attached as <br />Exhibit B. As a result of this study, the River District initiated work on several projects <br />(including three in Summit County) that could help reduce these expected shortages and <br />these projects could be impacted by the proposed RICD. Descriptions of those projects <br />and the River District's concerns are listed below. <br />A. Old Dillon Reservoir Enlargement <br />The River District, through its Colorado River Water Projects Enterprise <br />("Enterprise"), entered into an intergovernmental agreement ("IGA") with Summit <br />County to perform feasibility analysis, project design and construction of the Old Dillon <br />Reservoir First Enlargement ("Old Dillon Enlargement"). Attached as Exhibit A. Old <br />Dillon Reservoir was originaily constructed in 1939 by the Town of Dillon and has a <br />current capacity of 46.14 acre feet. Summit County, in an effort to meet future water <br />needs, obtained an 80% interest in any enlargement of Old Dillon Reservoir. Summit <br />County and Dillon adjudicated a water storage right for the Old Dillon Enlargement for <br />150 acre feet (Case No. 93CW288 and 03CW036) and plan of exchange to store up to