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COLORADO a DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES From Harris Sherman Executive Director of ON R and Director of Compact Negotiations Thanks to all of you for being patient as the Ritter Administration becomes better acquainted with the ongoing progress and structure surrounding the Interbasin Compact Process. Since the February 2 Interbasin Compact Committee (IBCC) meeting, I have been meeting with members of the IBCC, Roundtables, and my staff regarding the Interbasin Compact Process. My conclusion is that we are off to a great start yet we have much work ahead of us. Over the past few months, the Basin Roundtables, the IBCC, and the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) have made significant progress in the development of basinwide water needs assessments and the utilization of the Water Supply Reserve Account (WSRA). This newsletter provides an update on these important achievements. ~__~.,~ e' '~- a ::II '.. ~~:L:.: . i"f-J.....~;)it.~ - ~~ ,. ,'- -,..... ::.";:,;fr . ~~~~ .!._.-._.~~~~~~~~:~~ "...~.- ;';:;;' Bill Ritter, Jr. - Governor Harris D. Sherman - DNR Executive Director In the coming year I feel that we should focus on certain programmatic elements that will give us a broader understanding of the water needs of each basin and potential ways of meeting those needs. Included within these efforts should be a focus on: . Further development of each roundtable's needs assessment . Continued implementation of the WSRA . Identifying multiple objective collaborative solutions . Establishing goals and milestones for the Interbasin Compact Process . Public education and outreach My hope is that by the end of 2009 we will have developed basinwide water needs assessments for each roundtable, and we will be utilizing the WSRA to help implement solutions to our identified needs. This work of the Interbasin Compact Process is a critical step in meeting Colorado's future water supply needs, and I want to thank the Roundtable and IBCC members for volunteering so much of their time, energy, and creative thought to this process. Basin Roundtable Activities Basinwide Water Needs Assessments Over the past few months, each Basin Roundtable has actively reviewed the data from the Statewide Water Supply Initiative (SWSI) and assessed other appropriate sources of information for their basinwide water needs assessments. Based upon a review of these documents, each Roundtable has identified areas where they need more information. The State's technical assistance team (headed by COM) is now working with each Roundtable to meet these information needs.