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<br />Service noting that "there has been no comprehensive phange in federal water resource <br />management since enactment of the Water Resources Planning Act of 1965.... Instead, changes <br />have occurred incrementally...ICWP suggests that an ~ppropriate start to any policy <br />analysis...would be the 1973 Report by the National Water Commission.... [A]ny such analysis <br />[should] be developed with the explicit involvement of state, interstate and local water resource <br />managers who implement the Nation's water resource!! statutes and programs on a daily basis." <br /> <br />Boxer Introduces Statewide Water Bill: U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) has introduced <br />legislation to help California meet its water needs. The bill is supposed to result in the <br />development of 632,000 acre-feet of water. The Califdrnia Affordable Quantity and Quality <br />Water Act 1 (CAL-AQQW AI) authorizes 22 expedited feasibility studies of water projects. The <br />Boxer bill also increases the authorization for funding: for the State Clean Water Revolving Fund. <br />Boxer's legislation will be referred to the Senate COnUnittee on the Environment and Public <br />Works, of which she is a member. <br /> <br />USGS Streamflow Gaging Program Funding: Staff attended a recent meeting called by the <br />USGS' Colorado District to discuss future funding issues affecting its streamflow gaging <br />program. Funding for USGS' water resources activities have remained flat, while costs, <br />primarily for personnel, have continually increased. Streamgages in Colorado are primarily <br />funded from the following revenue sources: <br /> <br />. USGS federal program (100% USGS funds) <br />. USGS cooperative program (approximately 50% federal, 50% state and local funds) <br />. Other federal agency funded <br />. CWCB & State Engineer operated and funded <br />. Locally funded <br /> <br />Due to flat funding and increasing costs USGS has had less funds to contribute to the cooperative <br />program gages and the ratio of non federal to federal c~sts has gradually increased. USGS and <br />the cooperators are concerned about this trend and the likely result that the size ofthe data <br />network will eventually shrink as cooperators can no longer afford to participate. <br /> <br />Two solutions have been proposed: prioritize the use:of cooperative funds so the most important <br />gage sites receive federal funding and shift key gages'jnto the 100% federal program. The <br />federal program gages are part of a national network,; the National Streamflow Information <br />Program ("NSIP"), proposed to contain over 4400 gases. Currently NSIP is only funded at a <br />level that supports 2800 gages. In Colorado NSIP is ~esigned to contain 171 gages, but is <br />currently only supporting 98 with 100% federal USGS funds (the remaining 73 gages are either <br />not being operated (39) or relying on the coop program). <br /> <br />One way to relieve the financial pressure on local coqperators and to guard against the shrinkage <br />of the streamflow data network in Colorado is to obta~n full funding for NSIP. This would allow <br />local cooperators to direct their limited funds on truly local, rather than statewide or national, <br />data and study needs. Unfortunately, the DOl has not requested nor has it received funds to fully <br />implement NSIP. ' <br /> <br />Water 2025 Initiative Update: On June 6 Interior Secretary Gale Norton hosted a daylong <br />forum in Denver that drew about 300 representatives.! The Denver meeting was the first of a <br />series of consulting conferences scheduled to occur in major cities throughout the West. The goal <br />of these conferences is to identify the areas along theiColorado River and Rio Grande watersheds <br /> <br />. <br /> <br /> <br />tit <br /> <br />tit <br />