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<br />Recreation issues include: scenic and aesthetically pleasing areas which revert to semi-arid range <br />lands or weedy, abandoned appearing areas; loss of cottonwoods and potential planting of <br />replacement trees; land and water based hunting; recreational fishing; swimming and boating. <br /> <br />Dryup of irrigated lands remains a significant issue: revegetation of dried up lands is difficult and <br />special plant strains and cultivation techniques may be necessary. Over a large dried up area <br />characterized by a variety of soil and drainage types, successful revegetation either by natural <br />succession or by intensive husbandry, depends on multiple agronomic factors. A realistic <br />revegetation program consists of adequate allowance for costs, appropriate time period for the <br />revegetation process, and designation of who will determine adequacy of the effort. <br /> <br />At certain levels of water-borne constituents, agricultural production begins to decline. Agricultural <br />use both disposes of pollutants, adds new pollutants, and concentrates naturally occurring pollutants. <br />The downstream riparian systems receive the upstream irrigator's wastes, although sometimes after <br />substantial time delays. A water transfer changes the historical movement of pollutants. These <br />environmental issues will undoubtedly receive greater attention in future water transfers due to <br />future changes in federal and state environmental regulations and administrative policy. <br /> <br />C. Issues for the State of Colorado <br /> <br />1. Administration <br /> <br /> <br />The Division Engineer and his water commissioners are required to respond quickly to changes <br />in flow due to natural or human causes, e.g., thunderstorms, foregoing of diversions. Flows <br />change daily on the Arkansas River and a loss of a day's water to some ditches can amount to as <br />much as 2000 acre feet or more. The natural stream system and the administration system is <br />very sensitive to changes which occur due to water transfers. Transfers increase the importance <br />of accurate measurement and administration of the river to assure non-injury to water supplies. <br />Technology such as satellite monitoring and better gauges become more important. <br /> <br />2. Socio/Economic <br /> <br />Transfer of water requires transaction costs that are paid by the buyer and seller but typically <br />benefit parties (water users, engineers, lawyers) outside the area of origin (Colby 1990). <br />Likewise, costs of effects water transfers are imposed mostly on the source area. (Howe, Lazo, <br />and Weber 1990) The Colorado General Assembly and the Colorado Water Conservation Board <br />are continuing to address the issue of basin-of-origin relating to transfers of water resources in <br />Colorado. <br /> <br />3. Interstate Compact <br /> <br />The Arkansas River Compact "equitably divide(s) and apportion(s) between the states of <br />Colorado and Kansas the waters of the Arkansas river and their utilization as well as the benefits <br /> <br />2-11 <br />