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Metropolitan Water Supply Investigation MWS1 Results <br /> 3.1.2.2. Colorado River Basin <br /> The Colorado River Basin has been a major source of water supply for agricultural and <br /> municipal water users since the early 1900's. South Platte Basin municipal and industrial <br /> water providers obtain about 30% of their existing water supply from the Colorado River <br /> Basin. The areas that are most relevant to this investigation include the Colorado River <br /> mainstem in Garfield and Mesa Counties and its headwater tributaries located in Grand, <br /> Summit, and Eagle Counties. <br /> Water supply sources for the Colorado River headwater counties consist primarily of the <br /> Colorado, Fraser and Williams Fork Rivers in Grand County, the Blue River in Summit _ <br /> County, the Eagle River in Eagle County. Access to water supplies from these sources in <br /> Grand, Summit and Eagle Counties is limited primarily by the relative seniority of water <br /> rights for transbasin diversions, and (during the late summer and winter low-flow <br /> months)by the water rights of the Shoshone hydropower plant located downstream in <br /> Glenwood Canyon on the Colorado River main stem. For all of the headwater counties, <br /> water rights held by the Colorado Water Conservation Board for protection of instream <br /> flows are a limiting factor during periods of drought and seasonal low-flows. <br /> Water users in Garfield and Mesa Counties have access to water supplies from the <br /> Colorado River main stem and its tributaries,while water users in Gunnison, Montrose, <br /> Mesa and Delta Counties have ready access to supplies from the Gunnison River and its <br /> tributaries. <br /> Growing water demands throughout the West Slope consist primarily of municipal uses. <br /> In the headwater counties, water demands for snowmaking and winter domestic use have <br /> grown rapidly during recent years resulting in an increased need for local water supply <br /> storage facilities. In both the headwater and main stem counties agricultural lands and <br /> water rights are rapidly being converted to urban and municipal uses. <br /> Water management activities and water supply availability are affected by the presence of <br /> several endangered fish species in the Colorado River near Grand Junction. A recovery <br /> implementation program has been created to address the needs of these species. This <br /> program must consider the flow requirements of the endangered species, existing and <br /> future in-basin water uses and transbasin diversions. The goal of the program is to allow <br /> for future water development under Colorado's compact entitlement while recovering the <br /> endangered species. Real and perceived trade-offs between these competing uses have <br /> resulted in considerable controversy within the program. <br /> There are also several water quality concerns within the basin related to transbasin <br /> diversions. Transbasin diversions selectively divert higher quality headwater sources, <br /> resulting in higher concentrations of dissolved solids and certain pollutant constituents at <br /> lower elevations in the basin. Some transbasin diversions (primarily the CBT project and <br /> Denver's Moffat and Roberts collection systems)have also significantly reduced winter <br /> season flows in several areas, which has reduced available dilution flows for wastewater <br /> treatment facilities in headwater locations. <br /> 20 <br /> Prepared for the Colorado Water Conservation Board,Colorado Department of Natural Resources by <br /> Hydrosphere Resource Consultants,1002 Walnut Street,Suite 200,Boulder,CO 80302 <br />