WSP02294 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

COLORADO RIVER COMP ACT WATER DEVELOPMENT PROJECTION November 2, 1995 FINAL REPORT Page 7 rights or their administration in Colorado. B. Workgroup History The Workgroup was convened informally by the CWCB in October 1994. The Workgroup includes 17 individuals invited to represent various geographical regions and water-related interests associated with Colorado River water supplies (e.g., irrigation, municipal and industrial, water conservancy districts, environmental). Technical support for the Workgroup was provided by staff from the CWCB and the Colorado River Water Conservation District ("CRWCD"). A list of the invited participants is attached as Appendix 1. A complete summary of all Workgroup meetings is available at the offices of the CWCB. The Workgroup held its first meeting on October 28, 1994 in Montrose, Colorado and has held seven meetings since that time, two of which were joint workshops with the CWCB. Handout materials and minutes are available for each meeting but are not included with this report because of their voluminous nature. However, selected materials have been included in a separate Technical Appendix accompanying this report. C. Process Each participant contributed to the discussions and to this report as an individual and not as a representative of any specific organization. Statements made by participants have not been taken as positions of any organization unless specifically stated as such. Statements made by an individual during Workgroup meetings will not be attributed to that individual and used in other actions. Our deliberations have been guided by state water law and the "Law of the Colorado River," Recovery Program documents, the September 1993, "Memorandum of Agreement between the United States Department of the Interior Fish and Wildlife Service and the CWCB concerning the Enforcement and Protection of Water and Water Rights," (Enforcement Agreement) and the CWCB' s, "Statement of Policy and Procedure regarding the Appropriation of Instream Flows for the Recovery of Endangered Fishes of the Upper Colorado River Basin" (The Interim Strategy or Statement of Policy and Procedure) adopted in March 1994. CWCB staff prepared information for our review related to the law of the Colorado River, identification of Colorado's compact apportionment and the potential restrictions thereon, estimates of Colorado's current consumptive use of water from the basin, and several alternatives predicting future development of Colorado's remaining apportionment and how it might be distributed among the seven major subbasins of the Colorado River. The CWCB staff also kept minutes of meetings and assisted in the drafting of this report. II. LAW OF THE COLORADO RIVER The Colorado River and its tributaries drain portions of the states of Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada and California. Colorado's use of the waters of the Colorado River and its tributaries is apportioned pursuant to the Colorado River Compact