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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SETTING FOR THE STUDY

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As Coloradans have long recognized, water is a scarce and precious
resource in our semi-arid climate. Its use and distribution have always
been a matter of concern and, on occasion, a source of intense conflict.
The future will be no different. Complex and difficult issues lie
ahead, each of which raises fundamental questions about the ends to be
served by the use of Colorado's water resources. In order to understand
these issues, and the approach which this study has taken in examining
them, one must first be aware of:

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1. Physical and compact limitations on the supply of water
available for use in Colorado.

2. The operation of the present water rights system, which
determines the legal and institutional procedures for the
appropriation, use, and transfer of water.

3. Potential aemands for various uses of water in the future.

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Each of these is considered below.

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PHYSICAL AND COMPACT LIMITATIONS

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Water supplies are, of course, finite. However, unlike resources
such as oil, natural gas, and minerals, the supply of surface waters
and hydrologically connected ground water is renewed annually, although
in amounts which vary from year to year. Furthermore, these water sup-
plies fluctuate from season to season. In addition to this variability,
there is a scarcity of precipitation as compared with more humid cli-
mates, and the natura:" distribution of supplies does not coincide with
the areas of greatest demand.

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In addition to physical limitations, the amount of water available
for consumption in Colorado is controlled by interstate compacts, U.S.
Supreme Court decisions, and an international treaty. These apportion
the flow of Colorado rivers among this state, nine downstream states,
and the Republic of Mexico. Since 1922, Colorado has become a party
to nine such compacts, and it is subject to two Supreme Court decrees.
Except for some unresolved questions about the Colorado River Compact,
which co\ers all the surface water arising west of the Continental
Divide, most uncertainties about the allocation of water among Colorado
and its neighboring states have been settled.

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On the western slope, favorable interpretation of the Colorado

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