Board Meeting 11/15/1984

• Board Meeting Date: 11/15/1984
• Description: Minutes, Agenda, Memorandums November 15, 1984
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Meeting

power revenues, and (2) the distribution of revenues among the
four Upper Division states . The draft does not cover the third •
element of the Board ' s February 16, 1984 , proposal pending the
completion of deliberations by the Board committee which is
addressing this issue (copy of rough draft of amendments
attached to Appendix J) .
Agenda Item 17 - Consideration of Water Development Policies
and Strategies for Colorado - Appendix K
In his discussion of this item, Mr . McDonald noted that in
recent months there has been growing commentary from various
quarters on the lack of a "state water plan" for Colorado.
This is evidenced by several things--discussions at the
Colorado Water Congress ' August seminar, statements emanating
from activities concerning the development of additional water
supplies for the Denver metropolitan area, recent articles in
the press, the theme of the upcoming 1984 Water Convention, and
statements made by some candidates for office in the recent
elections .
Despite the wide ranging expressions of interest in this
topic, there is a distinct lack of agreement over what a "state
water plan" should be or, more important, whether there should
even be one. Furthermore, there seems to be a lack of
understanding of and appreciation for the role of state
government, as defined by statute, in water development .
activities . There is also continuing confusion about the
responsibilities which various agencies have for water project
development in Colorado .
In the commentary of the past several months, use of the
term "state water plan" seems usually to have carried the
connotation that there should be a master blueprint for the
development of new water projects . The question of who would
implement such a plan--who would decide which projects are to
go forward and which are not--is usually passed over or one is
left with the vague impression that state government has the
authority to make these decisions .
In Mr . McDonald ' s view, this notion of a "state water plan"
is inapplicable to the water rights system we have in
Colorado . There is no authority or place for such a plan under
Colorado statutes . Indeed, such a "state water plan" would be
the very antithesis of the state ' s prior appropriation system,
which leaves decisions concerning the use, development, and
transfer of water to individual appropriators and the economic
forces of the marketplace.
Rather than talking in terms of a "state water plan, " Mr .
McDonald suggested that it would be more useful and
constructive to frame discussions in terms of the policies and
strategies which state government can effect in order to
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