Gunnison Basin Water: No Panacea for the Front Range

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Executive Summa The Report also takes a look forward. It describes the new uses of water already on the drawing board. It offers an explanation of what new uses of water should be made and how they will affect the basin. Inside the Report you will find the big picture as well as a detailed analysis of what is at stake in the Gunnison and why it needs protection. You'll find information that demonstrates that: • Gunnison water supports a century-old tradition of irrigation that continues to provide a backbone to the basin's rural landscape. • Gunnison water slakes the growing thirst of in-basin residents and over a million tourists who visit during all seasons of the year. • Gunnison water is the lifeblood of a recreation industry-including skiers, anglers, boaters, and others-the new economic engine driving the basin. • Gunnison water generates millions of dollars worth of hydroelectric power supplied to homes and businesses all over the southwest. • Gunnison water is a critical component of Colorado's water delivery obligations to downstream states under the Colorado River Compact. • Gunnison water plays an invaluable role in recovering endangered fish species and protecting the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, national treasures that we must protect in their own right and for future generations to enjoy. To take water away from any of these uses is legally questionable, and certain to harm them. It simply is not good policy for sprawling F3ront Range growth to count on water the Western Slope depends on for its present and future needs. Fortunately, the Gunnison is not the only possibility for quenching Front Range thirst. Other sources of water will cost less, be less damaging to the environ- ment, and still meet the needs of the Front Range for many decades to come. The Front Range needs to rely first on more efficient use of existing water supplies, including water conservation and creative water supply options, rather than taking water from the Gunnison. There is hope for a reasonable amount of growth along the Front Range without endangering one of Colorado's invaluable gems. In the pages that follow, you will find: Chapter One describes and analyzes existing water uses in the Gunnison Basin. It details the quantities and locations of stored water, as well as the economic and social implications of water use. Chapter One concludes with a description of the decade-long lawsuit over the proposed Union Park Project and the important final ruling by the State Supreme Court: that virtually all of the Gunnison Basin's water is already in use. • v. The Land and Water Fund of the Rockies