Overview - Colorado Water for the 21st Century

• Title: Overview - Colorado Water for the 21st Century Act
• Date: 6/1/2006
• IBCC - Doc Type: Articles & Speeches

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office of

Interbasin Compact
Negotiations
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Interbasin Compact Process
Overview

July, 2006

Introduction

The dialogue on water in Colorado has changed. The Colorado Water for the 21 st Century Act
creates a collaborative process which establishes stmcture to deal with how the state addresses its
water challenges.

Historical water use patterns have caught up with our choices of where we live and work.
Increasingly communities have outgrown available water supplies. This predicament was
created over time and will become more dramatic as Colorado's population grows and its water
uses and needs change. To correct this problem by moving water from place to place without
regard for the communities, economies, and the environment does not recognize the value and
importance of water in all parts of Colorado. Water is moved from basin to basin and sub-basin
to sub-basin in every corner of the state. In the past, and far too often, the movement of water
has been viewed as creating winners and losers. This need not be the case. There is absolutely
no question that compromise will be necessary to accommodate the many competing water uses
in Colorado-but it does not mean that we are dealing with a zero sum proposition.

This is the backdrop behind the collaborative initiative created by the Colorado Water for the 21 st
Century Act. This Interbasin Compact process is based upon the premise that Coloradans must
work together to address the water needs within our entire state. In order to foster this, the
Colorado Water for the 21 st Century Act creates a framework that changes the dialogue on water
throughout Colorado, broadens the range of stakeholders that will actively participate in the
state's water decisions, and creates a locally driven process where the decision-making power is
exactly where it should be - in the hands of those living throughout the state's river basins.

Colorado Water for the 21st Century Act Provisions

The Colorado Water for the 21 st Century Act sets up a framework that provides a permanent
fomm for broad-based water discussions. It creates two new stmctures: 1. The Interbasin
Compact Committee, a state-wide committee that will address issues between basins; and 2. The
Basin Roundtables.

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Eric Hecox Office of Interbasin Compact Negotiations [phone] [e-mail]
1313 Sherman Street, Room 718 Denver, CO 80203