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<br />will be minimized. This principle favors mutually beneficial <br />exchanges of water between cities and farmers: <br /> <br />VI. Aqriculture <br /> <br />We agree that conversion of agricultural <br />water to municipal use should be given a low <br />priority to reflect the importance of agricul- <br />ture to the economy and lifestyle of the State <br />of Colorado. Mutually agreeable exchanges of <br />agricultural water to municipal use should be <br />encouraged. <br /> <br />Revised Agreements in Principle, Metropolitan Water Roundtable, <br /> <br />7/16/82. <br /> <br />An exchange can be implemented when both parties to the <br />exchange manage water for each other's use without injuring other <br />water users. The Roundtable principle is violated when cities <br />remove large amounts of water from historically irrigated lands <br />instead of utilizing storage and exchange or augmentation plans. <br /> <br />BASIN OF ORIGIN PROTECTION MAY BE NECESSARY <br />IN CONNECTION WITH AGRICULTURAL WATER TRANSFERS <br /> <br />Basin of origin protection is becoming a key issue in <br />municipal water transfers. Heretofore, such protection has been <br />afforded under Colorado law only in connection with new <br />appropriations from the Colorado River Basin by water conservancy <br />districts, Colorado River Water Conservation District v. <br />Municipal Subdistrict, Northern Colorado Water Conservation - <br />District, 198 Colo. 352, 356-357, 610 P.2d 81, 83-84 (1979). <br /> <br />presently, large agricultural water transfers to the <br />Denver Metropolitan area are pending from the Arkansas River in <br />Southeastern Colorado to the City of Aurora and from the Cache la <br />poudre River in Northeastern Colorado to the City of Thornton, <br />both of which are Denver Metropolitan municipalities. These <br />transfers could cause a severe loss to the local tax base, the <br /> <br />-14- <br />