Final Draft ALP Marketing Supply and Demand Study

A -LP Water Animas -La Plata Water Marketing Supply and Demand Study Executive Summary
Conservation District (SWCD) for the A -LP Project, Animas River water right administration and A -LP
Project accounting. Lastly, project operations need to be mindful of the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain
Ute Indian Water Right Settlement and the decrees held by the Ute Tribes for water rights on the Animas
and La Plata River and other tributaries to the San Juan River.
At present (October 2010), the Tribes and the State are discussing the possibility of a cooperative
process to explore options for increasing utilization of A -LP Project water allocated to the State, Ute
Tribes and other water interests in Colorado. The Tribes would like this program to be initiated within the
next few months and anticipate the announcement of the joint process at the November 2010 CWCB
meeting. The Tribes, the State, and the SWCD intend to initiate this process in December 2010. The
process envisioned by the State and the Tribes will extend beyond the time frame of the investigation
presented in this report.
Several 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 proposed marketing program has also been outlined to increase water provider awareness of the
availability of A -LP Project water and the financial assistance available to water providers in an effort to
help increase the M &I use of the State's A -LP water. The proposed program will assist in developing,
diverting, pumping, treating and conveying/distributing the State's A -LP Project Water. A web page and a
marketing 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 ALP Report_1_13_11_LL.docx