Finance Committee Meeting 2007

• Board Meeting Date: 9/18/2007
• Description: Finance Sub-Committee Meeting September 18, 2007
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Meeting

STATE OF COLORADO
ip Colorado Water Conservation Board
j Nst
Department of Natural Resources S
1313 Sherman Street,Room 721
Denver,Colorado 80203 �
Phone:[phone] ,, -„a `,
FAX:[phone] ' -.7t..
www.cwcb.state.co.us "91 `
MEMORANDUM Bill Ritter,Jr.
Governor
Harris D.Sherman
Executive Director
TO: Colorado Water Conservation Board Members Dan McAuliffe
FROM: Veva McCaig CWCB Acting Director
Office of Water Conservation&Drought Planning
Ted Kowalski
Michelle Garrison
Water Supply Protection Section
DATE: September 4,2007
SUBJECT: Agenda Item XX—Office of Water Conservation&Drought Planning Section and Water Supply
Protection Section
Analysis of Climate Change Effects on Colorado Water Resources Study Project
illIntroduction
The CWCB Office of Water Conservation&Drought Planning(OWCDP)and Water Supply Protect staff is
requesting funding for the Analysis of Climate Change Effects on Colorado Water Resources Study Project in the
amount of$100,000 to be used to implement a key recommendation identified in the July 2007 Board-approved
Updated Information Provided in Support of the 2002 Colorado Drought Mitigation and Response Plan. This
Project is needed in order to begin developing and implementing a water adaptation strategy to address potential
impacts from climate change/variability on Colorado's water resources.
Background
At the July 2007 CWCB Board meeting in Craig,CO,the Board approved the Updated Information Provided in
Support of the 2002 Colorado Drought Mitigation and Response Plan and approved the forwarding of these updates
to the Colorado Division of Emergency Management for integration into the Colorado Natural Hazard Mitigation
Plan for ultimate submission to FEMA. Recommended actions for statewide drought mitigation and response-
related actions were recently updated and approved at this meeting. They included a Statewide Climate
Change/Water Adaptation Initiative to meet the goal of preparing Colorado water users for climate change. Since
the approval of the Updated Information,the Department of Natural Resources has commenced efforts to develop a
Colorado Climate Change Plan,which will include the definition of some short and medium term water adaptation
strategies.
According to the June 2006 Western Governor's Association Report entitled,"Water Needs and Strategies for a
Sustainable Future",average temperatures in the West have reportedly risen 2-5 degrees F during the 20th century
and are predicted to continue rising into the future resulting in the following impacts:
• Smaller snowpacks
• Earlier snowmelt
• More extreme flood events
• • More evaporation and dryness
• Less groundwater
• More droughts
• More wildfires
Flood Protection•Water Supply Planning and Finance•Stream and Lake Protection
Water Supply Protection•Conservation and Drought Planning