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<br />i. <br />'. <br />, <br /> <br />Discussion <br /> <br />'. , <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />I believe there are ,several ties to the Board's floodplain management program, <br />water supply, and the educati~ilaJ. purposes of the Office of Water Conservation. <br /> <br />One of the Board's role in the state's emergency response plan following a flood is to <br />document the hydrological and hydrologic aspects of the event. Northeastern Colorado is among <br />the most hail prone regions in the United States. The extreme rainfall event in July 1997 caused <br />the tremendous flash flood in Fort Collins. Such a volunteer network would have been invaluable <br />in obtaining accurate data. <br /> <br />"'., <br /> <br />One of the objectives of the Board's Long Range Plan is to provide leadership and support <br />necessary to assure that the water-related components of DNR's environmental education <br />programs are factual, objective, are highly effective in reaching key communities and interests <br />(Goal 8, Objective 3). A project such as this could foster among young people a better <br />understanding of our semi-arid climate, aild the relationship between rainfall and runoff leading <br />to the need for wise water resources development. <br /> <br />An emerging technology in water conservation will automatically tie lawn watering to daily <br />evapo-transporation (ET) nites under a water rate structure that rewards water use at or below a <br />certain allocation based on a specific type of lawn such as bluegrass. One of the key elements of <br />such a system is a good network of weather stations. Another element of success is a population . <br />that is educated about the weather. <br /> <br />Recommendation <br /> <br />Staff recommends that the Board consider becoming a sponsor of the Colorado <br />Collaborative Rain and Hail Study by allocating up to $10,000 from any funds that may be <br />available to the CWCB from the OperatioilaJ. Account of the Severance Tax Trust Fund in either <br />FY 1999 or FY 2000. . . <br /> <br />Attachment <br /> <br />L:\BOARDMEMIJAN99\l6d - Climate Center <br /> <br />e <br /> <br />2 <br />