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Rio Blaflco H:erald-Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Thursday, TIecember 4,2003 WAT~from page 1A mary demands on the White and Yarnpa rivers. He also noted that the basin has seen a 24 percent growth in popul~: tion in the last decade and the ' area is eXpected to grow anoth- er 64 perrent by 2030 based 'on the state's population esti- mates. ) EveJI. with that growth, the basin aocounts for less than 1 percentJ 0/ the state's popula- tion, With 80 percent of the . state's lPopulation on the Eastern510pe and 80 percent of the state's water on the WestemSlope, people are look- ing for ways to better use the state's water resources. Dam: Birch, with the Colora/io River Water ConseJYancy District, said the YampaRiver generates about 1 million ,acre "feet (af) of water armually and expects to have demand's for 100,000 af to ,150,000 ,at of that water during the next 30 years. (An acre-foot is aboui 326,000 gallons, or enough lor a family of four for a year.) E ve~ thou gh there appears to be a surplus of water, he's concerned about the tributaries .of the river that are not seeing adequate flow. He noted that. 'studies are being done on other .' rivers, including the White River, to determine current and future usage but those weren't currently available. Frank Cooley, local attorney and Yellow Jacket Water Conservancy District member, voiced his concerns regarding the need for additional water resourceS if.oil shale begins to develop as many expect. He noted that additional water storage capability will be need- ed along the White because the potential demands far exceed . what the river can deliver on an annual basis. Meeker resident Bob Tobin asked if senior water rights can withstand a challenge of "emrnenint domain" from ii public entity. Eminent domain is the power of a government body to take private property for public use. Numerous pub- lic and quasi-public agencies (such as airport authorities, highway commissions, and community development agencies) are authorized to use. eminent domain. Brown said it was "absolutely not" the intention of the CWCB to recommend something like that and that the "doctrine of prior appropri- ation" remains a priority. However, CWCB board member and Meeker resident . David Smith said though th~J doctrine remains a basic under,,: standing it can change witJj,; political decisions and if th(. makeup of the CWCE board,. changed. "I can't say (the doc~, hine) will always be there," h~. said. .' Smith said one of his con: cerns was the reliability of water in certain areas in the' county. He said during the last couple of years drought condl; tions have challenged the agril culture community and the. stockholders of area ditch com~ panies. Last summer, he said. where the four ditches come; together out of the canyon raI\1 . ~ very low last year ultimately< depending upon some release) of water from Lake Avery toi. Protect the fish in the river. ',y , .. "ProbaQ!y the best answer; is more storage," Smith said;!".. "If everything fell apart, it!' would be critical without more', siora ae. If ". Other issues discussed' included the Wolf Creek'': Reservoir by Rio Blanco Lake! and sediment issues with' Taylor Draw Dam. -. For more information about the SWSI, visit www.cwcb.state.co.us or con-. tact Rick Brown at (303) 866- 3514, rick.orown@state.co.us.: