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Memo to Colorado Water Conservation Board Members From: Peter Evans and Gene Jencsok Date: October 17, 1995 SUBJECT: Agenda Item 2, October 20, 1995 Board Meeting Endangered Fish Recovery ISF Water Right - Colorado River (Mainstem) Page 7 projections of future development, and d) other information. After consulting with the CWCB, 17 people representing various Colorado interests associated with the Colorado River were organized into an ad hoc "Compact Development Projection Workgroup." This informal Workgroup was first convened on October 28, 1994 and met approximately ten times to review the relevant information and prepare the final draft report entitled Colorado River Compact Water Development Projection, and dated September 14, 1995. Although the Workgroup recommendations have been presented to the CWCB at several recent workshops, we hope that representatives of the Workgroup will be able to attend the October 20 meeting in Grand Junction to formerly present the recommendations and answer any questions you may have. In essence, the Workgroup recommends that the CWCB protect future opportunities for development of242,000 acre-feet of additional water supplies from the Colorado River (mainstem). The Workgroup members and staff from the Colorado River Water Conservation District invested a great deal of their time and expertise in the development of the "Workgroup Observations and Recommendations to the CWCB," which were: . "A. Colorado's compact apportioMlent is dependent on both the long term water supply and the assumptions made concerning the Law of the Colorado River. There arc varying assumptions relating to water supply and the Upper Basin stateS" obligation to meet one-half of the Mexican Treaty commibnent. which result in consumptive use apportionment values for Colorado ranging between 3.079 MAF and 3.855 MAP. As a result, a range of development allowance opportunities for each of the seven subbasins is recommended. "8. A conservative assumption should be made in which all future water development may occur under water rights which will be junior in priority to the endangered fish recovery instream flow water rights. There are numerous decreed conditional water rights with the combined capability to more than fully develop Colorado's remaining compact apportionment. and we recognize that future development of Colorado's remaining compact apportionment will most likely reflect a combination orooth new water rights and the development of senior conditional water rights. In many cases, the water rights developed may be relying on the ability to reuse water which has previously been used. The recommended approach is intended to provide a safety-factor sufficient to allow water rights junior to the anticipated instream flow water rights to fully utilize the remainder of Colorado's apportionment. "C. The development of senior conditional water rights should not be impaired by a junior CWCS instream flow right. although we assume that any changes of senior water rights (e.g., changes in use, point of diversion, etc.) will conform to the "no injury" standard with respect to the ewes's instrc:am flow rights and all other water rights. It is understood that in conforming to the "no injury" standard some additional limitations may be placed on the ability to change water rights. "D. The hydrologic information provided by the ewcs staff only includes waters which originate in Colorado and thus water from the Little Snake in Wyoming (200,000+ AF) and certain flows tributary to lhe San Juan in New Mexico (approximately 180,000 AF) are not included in the hydrology used to evaluate the various alternatives. There was not total agreement on this approach, but it was agreed that this was a conservative approach which avoided the need to make assumptions about what might or might not occur in our neighboring states. "E. We have not recommended any specific distribution 10 any particular subbasin; nor have we specifically recognized any particular water rights. Rather, we have cstablished a recommended range of development allowance for each subbasin as described in Table 4. The upper limit of these ranges allows up to 3.855 MAF oftotaJ consumption from the Colorado River Basin by distributing up to one-half of the remaining compact apportioned watcrs needed to reach the 3.079 MAF level of development to each of the seven major subbasins but only to the extent lhat water is physically available for appropriation. The lower limit of our recommended ranges is based upon the lower estimate of Colorado's apportionment (i.e., 3.079 MAF), and distributes the state's approx.imately 450,000 acre feet of remaining apportionment among the seven major subbasins based on the proportionate share which each subbasin contributes to the natural flow of the Colorado River originating within Colorado but, again, only to the ex.tent that water is physically available for appropriation. Tliese ranges should provide the flexibility for full compact developmcnt to occur as it nonnally would under state water law and assure that future development opportunities in Colorado are constrained by Colorado's compact apportionment rather than the instream flow water rights. 'F. We have not advocated Ihc construction of any particular water project. nor should our recommendations prevent the development of any waler project; we havc been as neutral as possible in this regard. "G. Given the numerous unccrtainties which exist. we do not recommend the appropriation of all the waters available for appropriation within any basin for instrcam now protection without carving out or otherwise protecting a development allowance adequate to assure the flexibility to continue developing Colorado's water supplies_in a responsible manner. Given the relative size of Colorado's comp~ct aPportionment (3.079 to 3.855 MAF) in comparison to the overall flows of the Colorado River originating in Colorado (10.797 MAF).. it seems- . . that there should still be adequate flows which the CWCS can protect under instream flow water rights to assist" in the recovery of the . 95C 1495