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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br /> <br />"Voice of the Western Slope since 1953" <br />A coalition of counties, communities, businesses & individuals <br /> <br />(970) 242-3264 * FAX (970) 245-8300 <br />P.O. Box 550 <br />Grand Junction, CO 81502-0550 <br />www.club20.org <br /> <br />CLUB 20 SPEARHEADS DEVELOPMENT <br />OF STATEWIDE WATER PRINCIPLES <br /> <br />For Immediate Release <br /> <br />CONTACT: REEVES BROWN 970-242-3264 <br /> <br />GRAND JUNCTION, 10/24/02 - CLUB 20, the Grand Junction-based membership organization <br />representing the interests of Colorado's 22 western counties, armounc>ed today the development oJ.':, <br />set of statewide "Water Principles" to guide Colorado's water future. As the "Voice of the Wester;; <br />Slope", .cLUB 20 spearheaded this effort with ACTION 22 (representing the 22 counties in <br />southeastern Colorado) and PROGRESSIVE 15 (representing the 15 counties in northeastern <br />Colorado). Under the banner of "COLORADO 58", the three non-profit groups collectively <br />represent 58 of Colorado's 64 counties. <br /> <br />"CLUB 20 started this ball rolling last spring in the hopes of crafting a broad-based consensus <br />document to guide statewide policy on this critically important issue of water management" said <br />Reeves Brown, CLUB 20 President. "These ten Principles are the result ofthat effort and represent a <br />historic step in melding a common water vision for Coloradoans on both sides of the Continental <br />Divide, These three organizations share a common concern that water decisions MUST be made <br />with full consideration of the long-term and potentially irreversible economic, social and <br />environmental consequences which those decisions will have on our various communities. One <br />community's 'solutions' can't create another community's problems." <br /> <br />While the state is working its way through the worst year of a 4-year drought cycle, elected leaders <br />are preparing to debate Colorado's water future in the 2003 legislative session which begins in <br />January. It is anticipated that over 70 different bills related to a wide variety of water management <br />issues may be considered during the coming legislative session - from water storage and <br />conservation to water quality and recreational flows. "This is not the time for knee-jerk bandaid <br />decisions" said Chris Treese of the Colorado River Water Conservation District. "The question of <br />how we allocate Colorado's finite water resources to satisfy the needs of our state's growing <br />population will require thoughtful deliberation. These Water Principles are intended to assist <br />decision makers in crafting fair and balanced policy and legislation to address Colorado's water <br />dilemma," <br /> <br />"We have learned from the past that the long-term solutions to our water supply needs are NOT as <br />easy as simply transferring water from one end of the state to the other" said Wade Haerle, CLUB 20 <br />Water Committee Chairman, "In order to create the best solutions to our future water challenges, we <br />must think outside the box and not just outside the basin. We must work together with affected <br />communities to develop consensus solutions to benefit this and future generations." <br /> <br />42 <br />