Colorado State Water Plan 1974 (Phase I)

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V PREFACE This report is the result of cooperative investigations and efforts between the Colorado Water Conservation Board and the Lower Missouri, Upper Colorado, and Southwest Regions of the Bureau of Reclamation. Authority for these investigations is contained in the provisions of the Water Resources Planning Act of July 22, 1965, with respect to the coordination of studies, investigations, and assessments for the purpose of developing a general plan to meet the future water needs for the Western United States. The Colorado Water Conservation Board, in 1970, requested Federal assistance in making the investigations that will develop various options and alternatives from which to select a Statewide water management plan. Beginning in fiscal year 1970, Federal funds were appropriated for the Bureau to initiate the investigations. The initial efforts were the preparation of a study plan which was presented in a publication entitled "Colorado State Water Plan--Plan of Study," dated March 1971. The plan of study established an orderly process for conducting the overall investigations and accomplishing the objectives. The plan of study also identified and defined the following three phases: Phase I--Appraisal of Present Conditions, Phase II--Legal and Institutional Considerations, and Phase III-- Plans for Development. Phase I is an appraisal of the water and related land resources and is also a summation of the current status of development and utilization of these resources. This report also identifies and describes the critical issues and problems concerning present water resource developments and utilization in Colorado. The data are presented in the report by the State's four major river basins - Arkansas, Colorado, Missouri, and Rio Grande. Economic data are presented by economic areas which are essentially the same as the four major river basins. The base year for compiling data was 1970, except that earlier data were used when 1970 data were unavailable. No projection of data for future conditions is included as part of this report. Phase II, Legal and Institutional Considerations, scheduled for completion in March 1974, will provide for an analysis of the legal and institutional factors which have governed and will govern the development, use, and management of water and related land resources in the State. Phase III, Plans for Development, scheduled for release later in 1974, will present alternative plans for the development and future available surface and ground-water supplies and related land resources to meet future needs and objectives. All potential ways for augmenting Colorado's water supplies will iii