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L <br />he devastating 2002 drought brought Colo- <br />rado's water supply problem to the surface. <br />Studies indicate that Coloradans will need an <br />additional 630,000 acre -feet (205 billion gal- <br />lons) per year of new water by 2030 to meet a <br />projected 53 percent increase in municipal and <br />industrial demands. <br />Approximately 2.8 million more people are <br />expected to call Colorado home by 2030, and most of them, <br />almost 2.4 million, will live along the Front Range. But the <br />�r <br />greatest percentage increases are expected in Western Slope <br />and mountain communities, where municipal demands will <br />nearly double from present day levels. The shortage is exac- <br />erbated by the fact that almost 90 percent of Coloradans <br />live along the Front Range, from Pueblo to Fort Collins, but <br />approximately 80 percent of the state's water is found in rivers <br />and streams on the Western Slope. <br />Although the problems were clear, the solutions were not. <br />Colorado's concerns about its water supply had many voices. <br />An agricultural water supplier saw municipalities depleting <br />