FLOOD01223

• County: Statewide
• Community: State of Colorado
• Stream Name: South Platte
• Title: Upper Platte River Basin Study 1979-83
• Date: 1/1/1979
• Floodplain - Doc Type: Flood Mitigation/Flood Warning/Watershed Restoration

Dr. Millard W. Hall
and
Mr. R. J. Bruning
September 6, 1979
Page two

from Harris Sherman, Executive Director, Department of Natural
Resources, to Assistant Secretary, Lands and Water, Department of
the Interior. TWo paragraphs of that letter which are pertinent
are quoted as followsl

a) That such study will not delay or hamper the
construction of the Narrows Project or any
other Colorado project without the express
approval of the state of ColOrado.

c) That the Missouri River Basin commission take
the lead in COOrdinating and directing the
study with appropriate state participation.

with reference to paragraph 0) above, the text of the
Draft WOrk Plan indicates that the states' proposal for a commission-
led study failed to receive favorable support from the Interior
Department. The reasons for this position are not explained. We
recommend that these reasons be briefly stated in the text of the
Draft Work Plan.

Approach to Problem

This section of the Draft Work Plan relates primarily to
a discussion of water supply, namely, the demands fOr water, the
present supply, an array of options pos.ible for the use of that
water, and the c:onseguence of chOOsing one option or strategy over
others. ActiyJ..tf.1frlto develOp an array of options is defined. As
we understand:tbese activities, they fail to recognize the authorized
projects in 1:he Basin, the existing framework of state water law,
tbe operat.io. of established existing water rights, the South Platte
River Compac~ between COlOrado and Nebraska, and the U. S. Supreme
Court Decrees which apportion the waters of the North Platte and
Laramie Rivers among the states of ColOrado, WyOllling, and Nebraska.
Colorado takes tpe position that the above-listed conditions must
be considered in the water supply aspects of the study.

As we interpret the Draf1: Work Plan, the activities under
way and to be aceOl'llplisbed will permit the formulation and evaluation
of alternatives for. the use of water and related land resources and
the economic and environmental trade-offs associated with these
alternative uses. This prOcess, under normal planning procedures,
leads to the development of a "plan". It was our understanding that
this is not the obj.-ctive of the study.
I

.,\_\\ooa18 and Ob1ective~

This section of the Draft WOrk Plan, beginning on page 7,

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