Laserfiche WebLink
<br />COLORADO RIVER COMPACT WATER DEVELOPMENT PROJECTION <br />November 2, 1995 FINAL REPORT <br />Page 15 <br /> <br />with interested parties in each basin to refine the development allowance and identify the <br />portions of the recovery instream water right which will be classified as paragraph 3 and 4. <br /> <br />VII. WORKGROUP OBSERVATIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE <br />CWCB <br /> <br />The Workgroup's recommended approach for distributing Colorado's remaining <br />compact apportionment among the major tributaries is described in Table 4. In reviewing <br />Table 4, the Workgroup wishes to emphasize the following observations: <br />A. We have not recommended any specific distribution to any particular subbasin; nor <br />have we specifically recognized any particular water rights. Rather, we have established a <br />recommended range of development allowance for each subbasin as described in Table 4. <br />The upper limit of these ranges allows upto 3.855 MAF of total consumption from the <br />Colorado River Basin by distributing up to one-half of the remaining compact apportioned <br />waters needed to reach the 3.079 MAF level of development to each of the seven major <br />subbasins but only to the extent that water is physically available for appropriation. The <br />lower limit of our recommended ranges is based upon the lower estimate of Colorado's <br />apportionment (i.e., 3.079 MAF), and distributes the state's approximately 450,000 acre feet <br />of remaining apportionment among the seven major subbasins based on the proportionate <br />share which each subbasin contributes to the natural flow of the Colorado River originating <br />within Colorado but, again, only to the extent that water is physically available for <br />appropriation. These ranges, which are shown in columns (0) and (H) of Table 4, should <br />provide the flexibility for full compact development to occur as it normally would under state <br />water law and assure that future development opportunities in Colorado are constrained by <br />Colorado's compact apportionment rather than the instream flow water rights. <br />B. Colorado's compact apportionment is dependent on both the long term water <br />supply and the assumptions made concerning the Law of the Colorado River. There are <br />varying assumptions relating to water supply and the Upper Basin states' obligation to meet <br />one-half of the Mexican Treaty commitment, which result in consumptive use apportionment <br />values for Colorado ranging between 3.079 MAF and 3.855 MAF. As a result, a range of <br />development allowance opportunities for each of the seven subbasins is recommended. <br />C. A conservative assumption should be made in which all future water development <br />may occur under water rights which will be junior in priority to the endangered fish recovery <br />instream flow water rights. There are numerous decreed conditional water rights with the <br />combined capability to more than fully develop Colorado's remaining compact apportionment, <br />and we recognize that future development of Colorado's remaining compact apportionment <br />will most likely reflect a combination of both new water rights and the development of senior <br />conditional water rights. In many cases, the water rights developed may be relying on the <br />ability to reuse water which has previously been used. The recommended approach is <br />intended to provide a safety factor sufficient to allow water rights junior to the anticipated <br />instream flow water rights to fully utilize the remainder of Colorado's apportionment. <br />D. The development of senior conditional water rights should not be impaired by a <br />