PUB00004

• Year: 2003
• Title: Gunnison Basin Water: No Panacea for the Front Range
• CWCB Section: Administration
• Author: Land and Water Fund
• Description: Gunnison Basin Water: No Panacea for the Front Range
• Publications - Doc Type: Other

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Executive Summary

The Report also takes a look forward. It describes the new uses of water
already on the drawing board. It offers an explanation of what new uses of water
should be made and how they will affect the basin.

Inside the Report you will find the big picture as well as a detailed analysis of
what is at stake in the Gunnison and why it needs protection. You'll find information
that demonstrates that:

. Gunnison water supports a century-old tradition of irrigation that
continues to provide a backbone to the basin's rural landscape.

. Gunnison wator slakes the growing thirst of in-basin residents and
over a million tourists who visit during all seasons of the year.

. Gunnison water is the lifeblood of a recreation industry-including
skiers, anglers, boaters, and others-the new economic engine driving
the basin.

. Gunnison water generates millions of dollars worth of hydroelectric
power supplied to homes and businesses all over the southwest.

. Gunnison water is a critical component of Colorado's water delivery
obligations to downstream states under the Colorado River Compact.

. Gunnison water plays an invaluable role in recovering endangered fish
species and protecting the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National
Park, national treasures that we must protect in their own right and for
future generations to enjoy.

To take water away from any of these uses is legally questionable, and certain
to harm them. It simply is not good policy for sprawling Front Range growth to count
on water the Western Slope depends on for its present and future needs.

Fortunately, the Gunnison is not the only possibility for quenching Front
Range thirst. Other sources of water will cost less, be less damaging to the environ-
ment, and still meet the needs of the Front Range for many decades to come. The
Front Range needs to rely first on more efficient use of existing water supplies,
including water conservation and creative water supply options, rather than taking
water from the Gunnison. There is hope for a reasonable amount of growth along the
Front Range without endangering one of Colorado's invaluable gems.

In the pages that follow, you will find:

Chapter One describes and analyzes existing water uses in the Gunnison
Basin. It details Ihe quantities and locations of stored water, as well as the economic
and social implications of water use. Chapter One concludes with a description of
the decade-long lawsuit over the proposed Union Park Project and the important final
ruling by the State Supreme Court: that virtually all of the Gunnison Basin's water is
already in use.

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The land and Water Fund af the Rockies