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July 18, 1995 GownIor Romer'll.lmJmPI'OlIDd Water Dtveni9D Governor Remcr's IICW plan to store Soudl Platte River water underground for Front Range needs is another costly divenion to avoid aitical statewide water decisions. Instead ofwasting energy to pump limited waters into and out of the ground. Colorado should be saving ita wwsed West Slope snowmelt in high altitude reservoirs for low-cost gravity delivery to both slopes during the damaging drought cycles. Aquifer recharge is an unproved concept that would only divert the state from its urgent need to develop and use its threatened Colorado River COmpad waters. During any ten-year period, there are only a few shon times when the aver-subscribed South Platte ~r has enough surplus water for underground pumping. River water' must first be treated and then slowly injected into deep wells with high-energy pumps. Fossil-fuel energy is:apin consumed when tbis relatively small amoum of water is pumped out of the around and treated again for urban drought needs. Most of the time these expensive pumps would be idle, while Colorado', vut UDUsed share of the Colorado River is being permanently lost to the grateful Arizona, Nevada, and California growth areas. Water flowing out of Colorado's untapped Upper Gunnison Basin is a good example of bow Colorado is wasting its renewable SUlface entitlements. In an average snowmelt year the Upper Gunnison consumes only about 5% of its total nmoff. The other 95%, whicb is enough to supply Metro Denver for two years, flows freely out of state. In heavy run-olfyears. i.e. 1993 and 1995, the Upper Gunnison consumes less than 1% of it, total surface water. Western hydrologist, know that Colorado's water future is threatened by it' naive bias against /1cadwater storage. UDiOrtullatcly, tbe lawyers who now comrol Colorado's water straIegy do not understand the long-term threat and need to plan. build, and store wet year runoff at high altitude to rna...;mi-.,e the enviroamemal and economic benefits for all Coloradans. Colorado is blessed with bountiful surface waters to permanently enhance its rural and urban areas. It also has several overlooked glacier-c:arved natural bowls on the Continental Divide that would be ideal for high altitude storage. In addition to drought protection. those off-river reservoir, would provide valuable flood coatrol, clean power, recreation, and wildlife protection for entire Western river systems. The non-renewable energy cost of Romer', aquifer recharge concept will only increase with time. Colorado citizens should be infulmed that the cost ofwell conceived headwater storage projects becomes negligible over time. Colorado leaders must save the state', water future by overcoming the popular misconception that all conservation reservoiR are somehow politically incorrect. Some technical imigbt, political courasc. and local cooperation is all that is required. ~ Dave Miller, Palmer Lake, CO 719-481-2003, FIX 3452