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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MONTROSED~YPREss Monday, February 9,.2004 Water supply roundtable coming to Montrose Feb. 17 http://Nww.montrosepress.com/clrticlesQ004Al2Al9Aocal newsQ.txt Jason Monroe MO NTROSE - Future outlooks on water supply and demand in the Gunnison River basin and throughout the state will be addressed when a Statewide Water Supply Initiative roundtable meeting is held in Montrose later this month. "That is what most people will be interested in is how the water demand will be changing through the basin Sand throughout the state," said Colorado Water Conservation Board Manager Rick Brown, T he meeting will include technical discussions from 2 to 7 p.m. and then public comment from 7 to 8 p.m. and will be held atthe Holiday Inn Express on Feb. 17. The roundtable meeting will address the eight objectives agreed upon by the eWCB board at its December meeting as well as the weighting process that will be used to prioritize the objectives. The first roundtable meeting, held in Montrose Sept. 17, attracted numerous water experts from around the area, including ewe B Board President Keith Catlin and Division of Water Resources Division Frank Kugel. " The SWSI process is not meant to replace local planning and water conservation efforts, but merely to facilitate and coordinate them to ensure future water demands are met. Several local projects, including the proposed AB Lateral power facility, which would be located in an canal that diverts water from the Gunnison to the Uncompahgre River, are likely to be discussed at the meeting, Brown said. Future demand numbers presented to the eWeB in January showed that an additional acre-feet of water will be needed across the state by the year 2030. For comparison, Blue Mesa Reservoir has approximately 750,000 acre-feet of active storage when full. The projections show that the Gunnison River Basin will need 18,000 additional acre-feet of by 2030. The Colorado River Basin water needs are expected to increase by nearly 75,000 acre-feet, and the South Platte River, which services the northern Front Range, is expected to need an additional 469,000 acre-feet to satisfy consu mer and agricultural needs by 2030. . . The need for added storage and water conservation are often considered top priorities in the state, which continues to be mired in drought. "I think thatthere is still a need for storage in the Gunnison Basin," Kugel said, noting that the trio of Blue Mesa, Crystal and Morrow Point reservoirs gives adequate storage for the valley's use, but that upriver areas and tributaries often lack the needed water for agricultural irrigation and future development.