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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Dams." The subtitle of the article is "Creating a balance between the needs of the river and those <br />who use it." A copy of the article is available online at www.doi.gov <br /> <br />Statewide Issues <br /> <br />Local Water Basin Planning Fact Sheets: We received helpful comments from Board <br />members, Division Engineers and the Attorney General's office on ouT first draft of the eight <br />basin fact sheets. These comments have been incorporated and new drafts are being copied. The <br />drafts will be available at our Board meeting. <br /> <br />We are in the process of discussing how to get the fact sheets circulating. For example, <br />Don Schwindt has asked us to work with the Southwestern Water Conservation District's Water <br />Education Coordinator. He will advise us how much money he needs to distribute the facts <br />sheets and hold a meeting, perhaps in conjunction with their annual water seminar scheduled for <br />April 7. <br /> <br />Eric Kuhn has advised us that he wants to hold two meetings, one in Summit County and <br />one in the Grand Valley in May. In addition to collecting information at these meetings, they will <br />serve as forum to educate people about the CRDSS. <br /> <br />We intend to talk with each of you to get your ideas about how you want to distribute the <br />fact sheets. <br /> <br />Instream Flow Workshop Summary: On Feb. 24 we held a workshop to request <br />instream flow and natural lake level recommendations. Participants included the DOW, State <br />Parks, the BLM, the City of Littleton, the City of Boulder, the City of Gunnison, the San Miguel <br />Watershed Coalition, Trout Unlimited, the Sierra Club, the High Country Citizens Alliance, and <br />The Nature Conservancy. A personal invitation was also extended to the Colorado Water <br />Congress State Affairs Committee. The workshOp was designed to give staff and Board members <br />information about how to prioritize future instream flow and natural lake appropriations and <br />acquisitions. <br /> <br />Because of resource constraints we cannot process every recommendation. It is critical <br />that we begin to identify instream flow appropriation priorities. Staff believes 25 <br />recommendations could be evaluated annually. Staffis developing a work plan which identifies <br />75 streams, stream segments and/or natural lake levels for data collection upon recommendations <br />could be made to the Board. This will allow us the flexibility to adjust our work schedules to <br />account unforeseen or unfavorable data collection conditions which may occur in a specific water <br />division or watershed. To accomplish this goal staff has prepared a "new appropriations work <br />plan" that will be discussed at our Board meeting (agenda item 21). <br /> <br />AgriculturaI/Multipurpose Demonstration Grants: By 1997, the CWCB approved <br />nine agricultural/multipurpose grants to demonstrate water use efficiency measures and stimulate <br />the development of creative and innovative approaches. Currently three of these projects are <br />working toward completion. <br /> <br />Drought Conditions: The Surface Water Supply Index (SWSI) as of Mar I ranged from <br />a low of -2.7 in the Rio Grande basin to a high of +1.6 in the South Platte River basin. The <br />SWSI considers stream flow, reservoir storage, and precipitation. Reservoir storage is generally <br />above average and snow pack has been improving slowly. The next meeting of the Colorado <br /> <br />7 <br />