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'OOO~~6 IV. The Imoact of the Two Forks Decision A. Incentives for metrooolitan coooeration with Two Forks. A framework exists for the joint development of projects which could serve the metropolitan area. The Metropolitan Water Development Agreement was the institutional vehicle by which the Denver Water Board and the suburban water providers could plan and develop any number of water projects. The Two Forks participation agreement was an outgrowth of this enabling document. The Two Forks permit has been justified and advocated, at least in part, as a catalyst to further metropolitan cooperation. With Two Forks, there would be additional water supplies available to a number of entities. But, Denver would certainly gain disproportionately compared with its need. As a result, it would have a marketable commodity that could be shared with suburban communities in exchange for their support of Denver-provided metropolitan services (e.g., Denver General). B. Incentives for metrooolitan coooeration without Two Forks. Denver has considerable leverage over the metropolitan area with regard to water. Importantly, Denver controls valuable water rights and has the necessary infrastructure to serve an area substantially larger than the City and County of Denver. In large part, this is because this system was envisioned as more than simply a Denver City system. However, without Denver's cooperation, Denver could make it very difficult for the less water-independent suburbs to obtain future water. Denver still holds valuable water cards even without Two Forks. The question is: what is there incentive to play? The suburban interests would like to see the 60,000 acre feet of interim supplies developed. In their view, they see this as an opportunity to which they are arguably entitled despite Denver's control of the water rights. They would say that these rights were acquired under the guise of Denver providing a metropolitan supply and that the suburbs relied upon these promises. Denver, on the other hand, sees these supplies as the security it needs to insure that water is available for future build-out of the City and County of Denver including the Platte Valley and the airport.