Visions for Colorados Water Supply Future

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To: IBCC Members From: Harris D. Sherman, Executive Director of DNR and Director of Compact Negotiations Date: January 15, 2007 Subject: Visions for Coloradds Water Supply Future At the January 2008 IBCC meeting that was cancelled, I had hoped to delve into a discussion on your visions for Colorado's water supply future. I11 order to keep this important effort moving forward, I would like for each of you to consider the questions posed in this memo and come to the March IBCC meeting prepared to discuss them. We began this discussion at the October 2007 IBCC meeting (see October 2007 IBCC Meeting Notes). In order to move forward, I propose that the IBCC articulate different visions for what Colorado will look like in 50 years and how meeting our water supply challenges fit into those visions. This approach comes from my discussions around the state over the past year. When I am out tallcing with different communities, I consistently ask them to think about what Colorado will look like in 50 years. What will the Eastern Plains, the Front-Range, the mountain headwaters, the West Slope, North Park, and the San Luis Valley look like? How will these regions change? 50 years from now, what will form the econonuc base in each region and what will the enviromnent look like? I ask Coloradans to assume the "business as usual" scenario. Then I ask them if this is the Colorado they would like to see. If this is, then we are on the right track. If not, then we should be doing something different. Even though I speak with diverse groups, I consistently hear the following about "business as usual" 50 years from now: • Statewide we will have competing uses for a limited water supply. We will have to make trade-offs in order to balance our state's need for municipal and industrial (M&I), agricultural, energy, and enviromnental/recreationaluws of water. Climate change may also add a new level of complexity and uncertainty to water planiung. • The Eastern Plains will see significant reductions in agriculture and this will adversely affect the region's economy and way of life. "Buy and dry" approaches to water transfers will be the primary means of meeting water supply needs. • The Front-Range will have a large urban population stretching from Fort Collins to Pueblo, and these land-use decisions will guide many of Colorado's future water supply options. • Colorado's mountain communities will have seen the state's highest growth rates on a percentage basis as people move to these areas for the recreational and environmental amenities. Localized water supply shortages will be a challenge in these headwater areas.