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Cooperative use of existing water supplies Excess water currently exists in some parts of <br />the Front Range water delivery system. - This water can, through cooperative <br />arrangements, sales, leases, and other mechanisms (and with some system delivery <br />additions) be directed to "drier" cities. With greater collaboration and cooperation <br />among Front Range municipalities (and farmers) the entire region, and therefore the <br />State, could find much more stability and efficiency. <br />Dry Year- leasing can be a win -win solution for both farmers and cities. It allows farmers <br />to lease water on a temporary basis to cities to help cities get through a dry year. Often, <br />in drought years, farmer's stand to earn better profits from leasing their water than they <br />would by raising crops. <br />Irrigation water salvage Urban water providers might be able to help farmers and <br />ranchers implement irrigation water conservation measures, such as ditch - lining, laser - <br />leveling and other water - saving techniques, generating water for municipalities while <br />enabling irrigators to continue in business using less water. However, Colorado's. "use it <br />or lose it" doctrine discourages these innovations because it declares that water salvaged <br />in this manner is not available to the irrigator or to the provider helping to conserve. <br />Thus, no one presently has the incentive to conserve irrigation water use. <br />There is promise that these supply -side efficiency measures can develop water at a <br />fraction of the cost of new, large conventional supply facilities. <br />Metropolitan Water Supply Investigation Report: <br />Insight into how the Denver metro area might solve its water supply needs without <br />constructing new trans- mountain facilities is provided by the 1999 report of the <br />Metropolitan Water Supply Investigation ( "MWSI" ). Initiated by Governor Romer and <br />the Colorado General Assembly in 1993, the MWSI explores cooperative solutions to <br />future needs of the Denver metropolitan area. <br />The MWSI reports that the future municipal water demand for the entire Denver <br />metropolitan area is expected to reach 911,000 acre -feet annually (AFA) to quench the <br />thirst of 3,269,000 people by 2045. The MWSI concludes that this will leave the Denver <br />metro area short of meeting its needs by between 79,000 and 148,000 AFA, but that this <br />need can made up through re -use, conjunctive use of surface . and groundwater, <br />integration of the delivery systems of the region's multiple water providers, innovative <br />arrangements with irrigators and similar supply -side efficiency measures. <br />The MWSI assumed that water conservation will save 159,000 AFA by 2045, assuming <br />only an extrapolation of conservation programs existing as of 1999. But we know we can <br />do far better than this. If the metro area, spurred on by state water policy, redoubles its <br />efforts on water conservation, the likelihood of needing major new trans -basin facilities is <br />even lower than when assessed by the MWSI. <br />n <br />