Water Supply and Demand Study 1/13/11

A -LP Tater Animas -La Plata Water Marketing Supply and Demand Study Executive Summary
Conc, ervation District (SWCD) for the A -LP Project, Animas River water right administration and A -LP
Proj ct accounting. Lastly, project operations need to be mindful of the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain
Ute I idian Water Right Settlement and the decrees held by the Ute Tribes for water rights on the Animas
and a Plata River and other tributaries to the San Juan River.
At pr sent (October 2010), the Tribes and the State are discussing the possibility of a cooperative
proc ss to explore options for increasing utilization of A -LP Project water allocated to the State, Ute
Trib and other water interests in Colorado. The Tribes would like this program to be initiated within the
next ew months and anticipate the announcement of the joint process at the November 2010 CWCB
mee ng. The Tribes, the State, and the SWCD intend to initiate this process in December 2010. The
proc ss envisioned by the State and the Tribes will extend beyond the time frame of the investigation
pres nted in this report.
Seve al alternatives which may be considered in the process include:
1. State's water reverting to the Tribes held in separate account for M &I supply: This alternative
would have all or a portion of the State's water that reverts to the Tribes held in a separate
account for future sale to water users in Colorado for M &I purposes.
2. State's water reverts to Tribes with option for the State to buy it back in the future.
3. State's water held in separate account for Colorado River Compact compliance purposes.
A pr osed marketing program has also been outlined to increase water provider awareness of the
avail bility of A -LP Project water and the financial assistance available to water providers in an effort to
help ncrease the M &I use of the State's A -LP water. The proposed program will assist in developing,
diver ing, pumping, treating and conveying/distributing the State's A -LP Project Water. A web page and a
mark ting brochure would be developed by the State to inform and encourage water providers to use the
State s A -LP Project water supply.
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FINAL ALI Report_1_13_11_LL.docx