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COLORADO DEPARTMENT OF NATUR.AL RESOURCES <br />COLORADO WATER CONSERVATION BOARD <br />RESPONSNE PREHEARING STATEMENT OF THE CITY AND COUNTY OF DENVER, <br />ACTING BY AND THROUGH ITS BOARD OF WATER COMMISSIONERS <br />CONCERNING THE APPLICATION FOR WATER RIGHTS FOR A RECREATIONAL IN- <br />CHANNEL DIVERSION OF THE TOWN OF SILVERTHORNE IN SUMMIT COUNTY <br />The City and County of Denver acting by and through its Board of Water Commissioners <br />(hereinafter "Denver Water") submits this Responsive Pre-hearing Statement in the above- <br />captioned hearing to the application for a Recreational In-Channel Diversion submitted by the <br />Town of Silverthorne under C.R.S. § 37-92-102. <br />1. INTRODUCTION <br />Denver Water owns and operates Dillon Reservoir, which is located immediately <br />upstream of the claimed RICD. DWD Exhibit 1. <br />Denver Water serves over 1.2 million people in the Denver Metropolitan area. Not only <br />does Denver Water supply water to its residents, but also to numerous municipalities including <br />the Cities of Littleton, Lakewood, Arvada, Broomfield, Westminster, Glendale, Wheat Ridge, <br />Commerce City, Cherry Hills Village, Greenwood Village, Centennial, Edgewater, Sheridan and <br />numerous special districts. By the year 2050, Denver Water forecasts it will serve 1.9 rnillion <br />people. Presently the Blue River supplies about 25% of Denver Water's water demands. Since <br />Denver Water currently relies most heavily on its South Platte resources, Denver Water's <br />dependence upon the Blue River will continue to grow to meet forecasted future demands. <br />While on its face the application appears reasonable (at least compared to other RICD <br />applications received by the CWCB), Silverthorne's RICD could prevent Denver Water's <br />maximum utilization of waters from the Blue River and its tributaries. Thus, the CWCB should <br />recommend to the Water Court that the application be granted with conditions so that the water <br />right does not prevent Denver Water from fully utilizing the use of Blue River water; or that the <br />application be denied in its entirety.