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7-6 I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I I The most significant municipal water supply problems exist in Colorado's front range, including the Denver metropolitan area. Water available from the South Platte River Basin is limited and additional transbasin diversions from the Colorado River are becoming more difficult and expensive to implement. Poor ground water quality and unreliable supplies create problems for some rural residents dependent upon underground reserves. LOcalized problems of this type occur in the South platte basin, eastern Nebraska, the lower Niobrara basin, and in parts of eastern wyoming. Preservation of suitable habitat for fish and wildlife is an area of major concern and conflict in the Platte-Niobrara Subbasin. A portion of the platte River valley in central Nebraska serves as an important stopover point for many species of migratory waterfowl, including the endangered whooping crane. Possible changes in stream regimen caused by depletions and reservoir operations are being investigated to determine waterfowl needs. A related problem for waterfowl is drainage of wetland habitat for conversion to farmland. Declining water tables caused by pumping also have negative effects on the occurrepce and quality of wetlands. Fisheries in the subbasin are sometimes degraded due to low flows caused by extended droughts, subnormal snowpack, land treatment measures, and depletions for other uses. In the North Platte River, the annual "silt run" at Guernsey Reservoir may affect the fishery. Each year, silt-laden water is flushed out of the lake to seal irrigation canals in wyoming and , Nebraska. PLANNING OBJECTIVES The three subbasin States differ in their views of comprehensive water planning and in the preparation of a State water plan. Colorado has completed two of three phases of a traditional State water plan--a resource inventory and legal framework--both done in cooperation with the Water and Power Resources