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<br /> <br />A Concept of Fairness <br />In Mitigating 'fi'ansmountain Water Diversions <br /> <br />The ('on{'(lpl of compensatory storage and other <br />measures used to mitigate transl1lountain water <br />diversions. rmhpf than being nt'w. have bl'(>n prac- <br />tict><l ~uc<:essfully on a partial basis in Colorado for <br />some 50 H'ars. When waltO'f is din"rt~od from a basin <br />selting orr a series of pt'rmanent injuries in man.... <br />forms as dl>lineated. elsewhere in this paper. nt'W <br />storage in and for basin Users has sometinw.s fwen <br />supplied to ease the injury. <br /> <br />In a transversion. even ....ith l'qual compensatory <br />storage. the Waler taken across thl' divide ('an om <br />be rep1anod. Forevermore in Western Colorado. river <br />l'hannt'ls will be that much low{'r. riparian habitats <br />will be that much dril'f. pumps will have to work <br />that much harder. drought protr'clion will Ill' that <br />much weaker and economic development and <br />opporlunities wiU be that much more limited. <br /> <br />1 <br /> <br />In fact. v.ith much of West.(.'rn Colorado currently <br />rL"t'ling from the deprf:'ssed statt. of <l.l.rriculture and <br />mining, thl' many l'(;onomic r{'coH'r.... dforts JlOW <br />being conducted could he destro....ed by a drought <br />demonstrating the re,l.rion's \lIlnt'rabilit..... \\'t'stl'rn <br />Colorado, in the abs{'nce of adequate mitigation, <br />stands at the threshold of permanent st3lus as a <br />crippled colony of lht. rest of Colorado, and that <br />is a status thatlhe rest of the state cannot afford. <br />Several paraUl,ls hetwt't'Jl Western Colorado and <br />Owens Valle\'. California are nolt'<i elsl:'wtwrp in dtis <br />paper. \\"estern Colorndo has ('omOlon inlt'rests <br />with Eastprn Utah, largeh- so<:iu..{->('onmnic and <br />grolohriC. as does Owens 'Valley with \'('vada. <br />IroniL-aU..... had both bf't'n a part of the nt'ighhoring <br />states, the\' could not haw !x-'('n dewatt'fl"(l. a" both <br />have been'. b.... portions of their own states. <br /> <br />Another iron\' of thl' dewatering of two distant <br />hut common re~rions is that ant' .....as s.....ift. another <br />slow, OWl'ns Valle\" was dewaterf'f.) swifth- and in <br />just a few acts. w-hile the dl'wat('ring of \\'estern <br />Colorado efft'{'ti'\'l:'ly began more than 50 ....t.ars agn <br />and wiU prohahly Iw stretchl>d across two more <br />decadE'S bt>fore it is com piNe. This may account for <br />thE' increasl.o militancy of some pt-'oplt. in Owens <br />Valley as compan:.d with the slow heating of the <br />frog's bath walt.'r in \\'t'stt'm Colorado. If the watt'r <br />is heated slowly l'nough. thl:' frog won't notin', <br />won't jump. <br />The water currenth- :1\'ailable in the Colorado <br />Hi\'er of \\"e~t('rn Colorado is insufficif'nt for the <br />future of the state, a ~tatt. in whkh aU portions will <br />2 <br /> <br />.l.'TOW, hut soow wiU h'TOW faster than othl:'rs. <br />Bpcause tht, Front Hang-I:' is pn'sl:'ntly ,l,rro.....ing <br />fastt'r than \\'e~tl:'rn Colorado. It has a more prl:'Ss, <br />ing nt'l'd or problelll, Actually. tran~mountain diH'r. <br />sions r('presl'nt the solution of a From Hange prob- <br />lelll b.... (-'on\'erting it to a \\'estl'rn Colorado injury. <br />The issue of adequall' mitigation hoils down to <br />whPther the Front Hangp will take the watt'r Il:'a\" <br />ing only shortage and injur.... for \\'estern Colorado <br />,,,'hile permanent I..., crippling it. or whl!ther tht' <br />water, hl'nefit, shortagt' and injur.... will hi' <br />t'<Juilably shart"(i. <br /> <br />Compt.nsator.... storagt' dot.s not f('placp watt'r <br />that has hl"{'n takl:'n in transmounlain di\'ersions. <br />Thal W[l(pr is irrl:'plan'ahll!. \\'hat compensatory <br />storagp dOt.~ is afford control and ability to mOf(' <br />carefull..... eff{'di\'el.... and prl:"<'isely utilize thl' <br />remaining watt'r. And, thus, it is one form of <br />mitigation. <br /> <br />Tht, halancl:' of this paper indudl's dl,tails on nint-' <br />different. major impacts of transll10untain din'r- <br />sions: a histor.... of promisps made to \\'estern Colo- <br />rado, tht'n hrokpn: dl:'tails on thl' dt'watering and <br />colonization of OWt'US \'aUe\'. California and thl' <br />man.... parallt,ls hN Wt't'l1 it a~d Westl'rn Colorado. <br /> <br />I n 19,~,t. Club :lO, the :J2 \'t;'ar old \\'estt'rn Colo- <br />rado promotional and ed~cationa1 organization <br />dl'\'elopt>d a policy l'aIling for one acre-foot of com. <br />pt'nsator.... ~torage for ('\'t'ry ant' foot trans\'erted. <br />Thut polic.... was adoptpd hy the Southwest and <br />Colorado Bin'r water l'onsen'ation di~tricts. two <br />councils of go\'ernment and st'veral towns and <br />counties, all of which f{'pr('~ent tht, ~l Western ColO'. <br />rado countit>s a few times over, The issuc' is not nt.w. <br />just urgent. <br /> <br />Futurl:' transmountain watt'f din'rsions must l:w <br />dpsih'lll>d. constructt-'d, finann>d and opl'ratt"(] in <br />such a manner that watt'r ust:' within the basin is <br />not impaift'l:l. and costs to USt'rs within the basin <br />art' not inn('asl>d. In the past. this has Ill't'n <br /><ll'l'omplisJu>d primaril.... by l'Ompl.nsator.... storagl'. <br /> <br />Those .....ho question the price of compensator.... <br />storagl' 3ft. urgl>d to first consider tht> price paid <br />b\" an an'a that is methodicalh' de.....atl.rro. Can <br />C"olorado afford to ff'quire equ"i[able treatment'! <br />..\ I ore significant I..." l'an Colof(ldo afford not to'? Can <br />Colorado afford to writl;' off 38c( of its land mass, <br />to pt.rmi.mentl.... coloniz(> and nipple a rt'glon <br />hpfl,tofore reno\\.nt>ti for its st'('nic beaut v and <br />minl'ral wpalth'.' ' <br />