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418 UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO LAW REVIEW [Vol. 55 <br /> • eral capital.163 It now must adjust to complex state and federal <br /> regulation. <br /> Throughout Colorado's history, utilization of water resources <br /> has been decentralized. Water in large and small amounts has been <br /> available when there was a need and economic feasibility. <br /> What has been the result? First, there is water available for <br /> diversion in Colorado. The state's three largest river basins, the Col- <br /> orado, South Platte and Arkansas, have access to water when and if <br /> there is sufficient need and capital. That is no small achievement. <br /> California, Arizona, and many other western states cannot, with <br /> comparable assurance, make the same claim. <br /> Second, Colorado still has river systems that provide exceptional <br /> recreational opportunities and there is no reason they cannot be <br /> maintained. <br /> Third, Colorado has a large array of small and large opportuni- <br /> ties for developing water. There are funds to build them in this pros- <br /> perous state if local and state interests have the will to do so. It must <br /> be remembered that a combination of fiscal and environmental con- <br /> cerns, as well as the tradition of Colorado's entrepreneurial water <br /> system, cause the state to not have a role as a planner, builder and <br /> financier of water projects. <br /> • <br /> Fourth, Colorado has a framework for using water and estab- <br /> lishing policies for its use that adapt to change while the underlying <br /> rationale remains unchanged. <br /> Fifth, Colorado has talented individuals who know about water <br /> and who produce steady critiques and analyses of Colorado's water <br /> policies.184 <br /> Sixth, Colorado has a long and honored tradition of vigilantly <br /> protecting water to which the state is, or should be, entitled. <br /> Thus, even from the short list above, it can be seen there have <br /> been substantial benefits from the state's continuity and caution in <br /> asserting a state role in the use of our water resources. <br /> There have also been weaknesses. The state's delay in address- <br /> ing the use of ground water stretched our entrepreneurial water sys- <br /> tem to the breaking point. It has resulted in enormous expense in the <br /> San Luis Valley and elsewhere.186 <br /> There have probably been instances where the incremental con- <br /> 163. See supra note 22. <br /> 164. See, e.g. 53 U. CoLo. L. REV. 471-654 (1982). <br /> 165. See In the Matter of Rules and Regulations. . . in the Rio Grande and Conejos <br /> River Basins, 674 P.2d 914 (Colo. 1983). <br />