Laserfiche WebLink
Executive Summa <br />Chapter Two explores the argument, advanced by advocates of diverting <br />Gunnison Basin water to the Front Range, that a significant amount of water some- <br />how might be available as a"marketable yield" from Blue Mesa Reservoir. It closely <br />reviews other uses of water-for irrigation, hydropower, endangered species, Black <br />Canyon of the Gunnison, and deliveries under the Colorado River Compact-that <br />must be factored in before a marketable yield determination can be made. The chap- <br />ter concludes with an explanation of the principal legal requirements for any pro- <br />posed trans-mountain diversion even if one were to assume that some small mar- <br />ketable yield exists. <br />Chapter Three explains why Colorado's Front Range future water needs can be <br />better met without using water from the Gunnison. It estimates the enormous cost <br />that would be involved in any trans-mountain diversion scheme. It details how the <br />Front Range's growth in water demand can and will be met by a litany of other <br />sources, including conservation and creative supply-side options that have worked <br />elsewhere in the southwest and are just beginning to be investigated in Colorado. It <br />concludes that a safe, secure water future for the Front Range does not require the <br />trans-mountain diversion of Gunnison water. <br />Gunnison Basin Water • vi •