PUB00090

• Year: 1995
• Title: SJR 94-32 Concerning the Management, Conservation, and Preservation of the Water Resources of Colo.
• Author: CWCB
• Description: An inventory of readily available water data for each major river basin within the state, including compact limitations and other information.
• Publications - Doc Type: Tech Report

.

In the Colorado River Basin (Water Divisions 4,5, 6 and 7) consumptive use of
water is the measure of Colorado's compact apportionment under the "Law of the
Colorado River." Therefore, it is important to be able to accurately determine
the consumptive use of water on the west slope, particularly as Colorado comes
closer to fully using its compact apportionment. Given this background, the
needs of the Colorado River Basin are:

1. Improved runoff forecasting.

2. Additional real-time satellite-linked stream gaging stations.

3. Improved estimates of consumptive use through additional climate stations,
lysimeter data, and maintenance of the irrigated acreage data developed
for 1993 as part of the CRDSS project.

. The Arkansas River, the Rio Grande, Costilla Creek, the La Plata River, the
Republican River, the North Platte and Laramie Rivers, are being depleted at or
very near the limits established by interstate compacts or U.S. Supreme Court
decrees. Significant developable water only remains in the Colorado River Basin
(Divisions 4, 5, 6 and 7) and in the South Platte River Basin (Division 1).
Preliminary demand projections indicate that Colorado would consume all of
those remaining compact entitlements.

. Colorado is facing increased demands for water from downstream states in the
Colorado River Basin, the South Platte River Basin, the Republican River Basin,
the Arkansas River Basin, the North Platte Basin, the Laramie River Basin, and
the Rio Grande Basin. These demands stem from either growth, the needs of
endangered wildlife species listed under the Endangered Species Act, or both.
Colorado must be able to defend its compact and federal decree apportionments
against those increasing demands and related efforts to challenge or litigate these
apportionments. The importance of having quality data to support decision
systems and models became evident in the litigation with Kansas (Kansas v.
Colorado, 1985). The legislature, the Colorado Water Conservation Board and
the Division of Water Resources should, therefore, continue to develop data
centered decision support systems similar to the CRDSS in each of Colorado's
major river basins.

Plan and Schedule

Table 4.1 and Figure 4.1 present a list and schedule for developing the information and
evaluation tools that are expected to be needed to effectively manage, conserve and preserve the
State of Colorado's water resources. The list and schedule are based on the available
information identified in this report and builds on the experience and successes of existing

3