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<br />~ <br /> <br />sharing supplies during periods of drought. More importantly, ~ <br />a fundamental purpose of our prior appropriation system is to <br />allocate what is always a relatively scarce resource. with <br />occasional droughts being but a particularly poignant example <br />of the scarcity of water in Colorado. Thus. the Board is of <br />the opinion that there are not any urgent policy issues with <br />respect to drought management which require immediate attention. <br /> <br />Increasinq Available Water Supplies <br /> <br />Determine amount of water resources for storage in years of <br />shortage <br /> <br />Forest vegetation management <br /> <br />Provide interim supplies for metro areas <br /> <br />The major observation which the Board would offer about <br />this category of issues is that they seem to contemplate <br />engineering and scientific questions, not pOlicy issues. <br />Therefore. the Board does not believe that these items merit <br />attention pursuant to HJR 1001. <br /> <br />Improvements in Efficiency of Use <br /> <br />("Conservation") <br /> <br />Waste of water <br /> <br />Use of salvaged water <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />Statewide conservation (water use efficiency) standards <br /> <br />Agricultural conservation (water use efficiency) measures and <br />their impacts <br /> <br />Questions about whether the efficiency of water use in <br />Colorado can and should be improved, and if so. how and at <br />whose expense, are clearly of major concern to many people. It <br />is equally clear that significant pOlicy issues are presented <br />by these questions. <br /> <br />Some western states, most notably Arizona, California, and <br />Texas. have adopted pOlicies which are designed to maximize the <br />efficiency of water use in various sectors. This has been <br />accomplished both through programs which provide incentives to <br />improve efficiency of water use. as well as through programs <br />which impose criteria, conditions. or limitations on water use <br />so as to achieve certain standards of efficiency. <br /> <br />These issues are amenable to legislative action should the <br />General Assembly deem it appropriate to do so. On the other <br />hand. water conservation is not an end in and of itself, but ~ <br />rather a means to an end. Thus, any study of potential state ~ <br />pOlicies with respect to improvements in the efficiency of use <br />must first identify the benefits (i.e., the ends) to be <br /> <br />-2- <br />