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<br />00125~ <br /> <br />Dr aft - 91 8 1 <br /> <br />Chapter 2 <br /> <br />Water Supplies and Depletions <br /> <br />Introduction <br /> <br />Now that the reader has been presented with a brief overview <br /> <br />of the state, it is time to examine water suppl ies and present <br /> <br />depletions in detaii. <br /> <br />First, however, it is necessary to discuss <br /> <br />three important points. <br /> <br />"Renewable'l vs. r'Nonrenewdble" Water <br /> <br />Under Colorado water law, ground water 1 exists in either of <br /> <br />two s tat e s : <br /> <br />it is either tributary to a surface stream or it is <br /> <br />nontributary. <br /> <br />Tributary ground water, if left to its own course, <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />will eventually join surface streams. <br /> <br />Thus pumping tributary <br /> <br />~ater near a surface stream would be expected to lower the level <br /> <br />of the st ream in proport Ion to the amount of water pumped. By <br /> <br />contrast, nontributary water theoretically will remain under- <br /> <br />ground, and pumping it would have no effect on nearby surface <br />, <br />streams. The terms "tributary" and "nontributary" will be used <br /> <br />in Chapter 3, which describes the Colorado water rights system. <br /> <br />In an effort to foster a more practical understanding of what is <br /> <br />involved, however, we will talk about "renewable" and "nonrenew- <br /> <br />able" supplies. "Renewable" may be considered synonymous with <br /> <br />"tributdcy,t for our purposes; "nonrenewable," synonymous with <br /> <br />"nontributary." <br /> <br />The dist inct ion is not absolute, but it does <br /> <br />point to the most important feature of ground water from a state- <br /> <br />wide perspective. <br /> <br />1The term "ground water" as used in this Volume is synonymous <br />wIth "underground water." <br />