PUB00057

• Year: 1978
• Title: The Colorado Water Study Directions for the Future
• CWCB Section: Water Conservation & Drought Planning
• Author: EDO DNR
• Description: First publicatiom of the Colorado Water Study volumes
• Publications - Doc Type: Brochure

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In recognition of this situation, the legislature passed S.B. 97
in 1973.* This law authorizes the state, acting through the Colorado
Water Conservation Board, to appropriate or purchase water rights for
"such minimum flows . . . as are required to preserve the natural
environment to a reasonable degree. . . ." To date, the state has
filed for minimum flow appropriations on over 2,400 miles of stream
and on about 460 lakes in order to protect coldwate~ fisheries., All
of these appropriations carry a 1973 or later priority date. To the
extent that they are on the upper reaches of streams and rivers above
existing diversions, they will effectively reserve minimum flows, even
though they are relatively junior water rights. However, on streams
where pre-1973 rights are already depleting flows below minimum levels,
senior rights would have to be purchased if the public desired to pro-
vide for various instream uses of water.**

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FUTURE DEMANDS FOR WATER

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The final element in the setting for the water Study is
potential future demand for water. The demand will be for uses
which fall into two broad categories: (1) consumptive uses, and
(2) non-consumptive, or instream, uses. The consumptive uses with
which this study is concerned include irrigated agriculture, energy
conversion processes (oil shale, coal gasification and liquefaction,
and steam electric power generation), coal slurry pipelines, and
municipal uses (the consumptive portion of which is attributable
primarily to lawn and garden watering).*** The instream uses which
this study is examining include fishing, kayaking, and rafting.

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*The constitutional validity of S.B. 97 is currently being tested.
The statute has been upheld in state district court, and the decision
is now on appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court.

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**A minimum flow appropriation, like any other water right, gives
the state the right to object to changes by other water users in the
time of use, type of use, point of use, or point of diversion, if that
change will injure the minimum flow right.

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***v~ile various industrial uses other than energy conversion
processes consume water, the anticipated demand for increases above
present levels is so small relative to the overall amount of con-
sumption in Colorado that such uses are not being considered in this
study.

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