PUB00093

• Year: 2004
• Title: State of Colorado's Watersheds Report
• CWCB Section: Administration
• Author: Colorado Watershed Assembly
• Description: An Annual Report
• Publications - Doc Type: Other

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In other basins, entities may
have completed planning studies or
may need assistance with planning,
and/or mayor may not be capable
of implementing projects without
some form of assistance. In these
cases SWSI will address planning
and implementation gaps, identify
projects for possible implementation,
and develop strategies for project
implementation.
Basin Technical Roundtables that
arc made up of diverse local interests
(e.g., water providers, water tlsers,
local government, environmental and
recreational interests) were formed in
each river to obtain local input and to
help with the overall implementation
of the SWSl project.

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North
Platte
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South Platte
alM!I!l

Arkansas

Figure I. Colorado.~ Eight A1ajor Ri\'(!r Basins and the Projected Annual Increase
in H'l:lter Use in Acre-Feet by J030

Project Status
The SWSI team has completed
three of the four Basin Technical
Roundtable meetings in each of the
eight river basins, and the final round of
meetings is scheduled for August and
September 2004. Colorado's future
population projections have been
summarized and arc shown in Table 1.
Demands on Colorado water
resources have been developed based
011 the projected increase in population.
Figure I shows that by 2030, Colorado
will need an additional 632,000 acre-
feet of water to meet municipal and
industrial demands, an increase of
about 51 percent over 2000 levels. In
addition, agricultural water demands
will remain high, and environmental
and recreational uses are also expected
to remain a priority.
It is significant to note that of the
632,000 acre-feet of water the state
will need by the year 2030, projects
that are either planned or underway
by local providers will provide more
than 500,000 acre-feet of this demand,

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Colorado
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leaving an unmet need ofapproximatcly
129,000 acre-feet. Ensuring that the
local providers arc able to implement
these projects is therefore critical to
our long-tenn water situation. \Vithout
these p~jects. the problems in securing
sufficient water for our future will

grow.

Next Steps
Providing an understanding of
how Colorado will meet its future
water needs is essential. Having a safe
and reliable watcr supply is vital to
our citizens and business economy.
Maintaining a healthy eJlvironment
and providing for recreation is also

Ensuring that local
providers are able to
implement projects is
critical to our long-term
water situation.

important to our communities and
contributes to the scenic beauty and
quality of life in Colorado.
SWSI will identify how water
providers are planning to meet their
future needs. and where existing plans
fall short. Additional water supply
altematives also will be developed. All
options will becollsidcrcd: conservation
and efficient water use should be
relied upon to the extent practical.
Enlargement of water storage and new
water storage will also be critical.
Meeting Colorado's long-term
water needs is a serious challenge
facing our state. and S\\'SI is now
exploring options for closing the
remaining gap so all Coloradoans will
have sufficient water supplies for the
future.
For more information. visit the
CWCB website.