Gary Barber, ChairArkansas Basin Rountable

February, 2010

Interbasin Compact

Committee and Basin

Roundtables

Topics for Presentation

Western Water Law is Counter IntuitiveThe Prior Appropriation DoctrineCompacts between the States

Roundtables and the Future “Gap”

Where are we nowWhere to next?

The Prior Appropriation Doctrine

Mining requires all the water

First in time, first in right

The Prior Appropriation Doctrine

The Bureau of Reclamation Founded 1902 Conservation

defined by the image of Hoover Dam

The Prior Appropriation Doctrine

Colorado’s Family Feud 85% of the

usage is East

87% of the water is West

The Prior Appropriation Doctrine

Denver: 375,000 acre-feet/year

Colorado Springs: 85,000 acre-feet/year

Compacts Between the States

Equal Apportionment between the States

The Colorado River Compact of 1922Seven StateUpper and

Lower Basins

Compacts Between the States

Compact allowed for development of the resource

The antithesis of Prior ApproriationReserved

water for the future

Drought of 2002

Dillon Reservoir

A Challenging Era for Colorado WaterA Challenging Era for Colorado WaterThirty years ago: Colorado’s population was ~ 2 million Three of Colorado’s four basins were

underappropriated. It was an era of water abundanceToday: Colorado’s population is ~ 5 million Three of our four basins are

overappropriated. We are now in an era of water scarcity

-- and tradeoffs.

Briefing by Colorado’s Director of Natural Resources, Harris Sherman, Jan, 2009

Yampa/White/GreenYampa/White/Green

North North PlattePlatte

South PlatteSouth Platte

ColoradoColorado

GunnisonGunnison

Dolores/ Dolores/ San Juan/ San Juan/ San MiguelSan Miguel

Rio GrandeRio Grande

ArkansasArkansas

107,600 AF107,600 AF

10,300 AF10,300 AF

Identified Identified ProjectsProjects

404,300 AF404,300 AF

Gap Gap 107,800 AF107,800 AF

2030 M&I Water Demands and Gaps2030 M&I Water Demands and Gaps

Briefing by Colorado’s Director of Natural Resources, Harris Sherman, Jan, 2009

The RoundtablesLegislative

ly formed in 2005

Basin by Basin

Standing for non-water users:Land useEnviro/Rec

Interbasin Compact Committee

AKA the “Uber” Group

Two reps from each of the Nine (9) Roundtables

Six (6) from the Governor

Two (2) from the General Assembly

The Director of Interbasin Compact Negotiations

What is the Arkansas Basin Roundtable?

Two (2) representatives from each CountyPlus conservancy &

conservation districtsPlus ten (10) at large

membersAgricultureRecreation &

EnvironmentIndustry and small

municipal water providers

MembershipArk Roundtable Membership Roster (current 7/14/08)

Voting MembersRepresenting

First Name Last Name

Voting MembersRepresenting

First Name Last Name

1 At-Large Environmental SeEtta Moss 29 Huerfano County Lindsay Case2 At-Large Lcl Dmstc Wtr Prov Lissa Pinello 30 Huerfano County WCD 3 At-Large Agriculture John Proctor 31 Huerfano Muni4 At-Large Agriculture Jonathan Fox 32 Kiowa County Rod Brown 5 At-Large Agriculture Tom Brubaker 33 Kiowa Muni Cardon Berry6 At-Large Agriculture Dan Henrichs 34 Lake County Dennis Smith7 At-Large Agriculture John Schweizer 35 Lake Muni Bud Elliott8 At-large Industrial Jane Rawlings 36 Las Animas County Tom Verquer9 At-Large Recreation Reed Dils 37 Las Animas Muni James Fernandez

10 At-Large Water Rights Owner Reeves Brown 38 Legislative Appointment Alan Hamel11 Baca County Glen Ausmus 39 Lincoln County John Reid12 Baca Muni Max Smith 40 Lincoln Muni Dave Stone13 Bent County Frank Wallace 41 Lower Arkansas Valley WCD Jay Winner14 Bent Muni Lawrence Sena 42 North La Junta WCD15 Chaffee County Tim Glenn 43 Otero County Kevin Karney16 Chaffee Muni Patricia Alderton 44 Otero Muni Joe Kelley17 Cheyenne County 45 Prowers County Virgil Cochran18 Cheyenne Muni 46 Prowers Muni Doug Montgomery19 Crowley County Terry Rusher 47 Pueblo Conservancy District Ricky Kidd20 Crowley Muni Carl McClure 48 Pueblo County Anthony Nunez21 Custer County Keith Hood 49 Pueblo Muni Tom Florczak22 Custer Muni 50 Purgatoire River WCD Jeris Danielson23 El Paso County Gary Barber 51 Saguache County Tom Young24 El Paso Muni Wayne Vanderschuere 52 Southeastern Colo WCD Jim Broderick25 Elbert County Larry Reeves 53 Teller County26 Elbert Muni 54 Teller Muni27 Fremont County Michael Stiehl 55 Upper Arkansas WCD Terry Scanga28 Fremont Muni Tom Piltingsrud

Potential Members 55Active Members 46Quorum Regular (50%) 32

Non-Voting Membe

rs and

Interested

Parties

Non Voting MembersFirst Name Last Name

1 Aqua Engineering Inc (Contract Facilitator) MaryLou Smith2 Colo. Div. of Water Resources (Division 2 Engineer) Steve Witte3 Colo. Division of Wildlife (liason) Jay Skinner4 Colo. Division of Wildlife (liason) John Tonko5 Colo. Geological Survey (liaison) Ralf Topper6 Colo. State Parks, Ark Headwaters Rec Area Rob White7 Colo. State University (liason) Perry Cabot8 Colo. State University (liason) Jeff Tranel9 Director of Natural Resources (IBCC) Viola Bralish

10 Director of Natural Resources (IBCC) Eric Hecox11 DMSC, LLC (Secretary to Roundtable) Elise Bergsten12 Ft. Carson liaison Gary Belew13 Non-Voting At Large Member (Aurora Water) Mark Pifher14 Non-Voting At Large Member (Roaring Fork) Phil Overeynder15 Rep John Salazar's Office Loretta Kennedy16 U.S. Army Corps of Eng (liaison) Van Truan17 U.S. Bureau of Land Management Paul Trentzsch18 U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (liason) Tom Musgrove19 U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (liason) Roy Vaughan20 U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (liason) Ed Warner21 U.S. Forest Service (liason) Misty DeSalvo22 U.S. Forest Service (liason) Deb Entwistle

Interested PartiesFirst Name Last Name

1 Aqua Prima Center, Inc. Jack Flobeck2 Arkansas Groundwater Users Asso Brenda Fillmore3 Arkansas Groundwater Users Asso John Sliman4 Aurora Water Tom Simpson5 CU-Boulder John Wiener

6 Lake County Bill Klauber

7 Lower Arkansas Valley WCD Bill Hancock

8 Pikes Peak Whitewater Gordon Stringer

9 Pueblo Chieftain Chris Woodka10 Round Mtn Water & San Dist Chris Haga11 self Ken Weber12 self Loren Whittemore13 Teller County Kurt Dahl

Salting the Mine

House Bill 06-179

$40 Million for Grants$10 million

per yearSeverance

Tax

STARTRequest that meets

basic criteria

MEMBER? Yes

No

ContactMember

Sponsored toNeeds Assessment

Needs Committee(Recv’d 10 days prior)Presentation (optional)

Tally of members: a. Recommend/not recommendb. Basin Only or Statewide funds

Returned Vote

Need more info, duplication, other funding sources

Forward toExec. Comm.to set agenda

Roundtable Meeting(Electronic distribution

10 days prior w/Tally of Needs Comm.)

1. Presentation2. Discussion ____________

Consensus? YesNo

Vote toVote?

No

Yes

Applicant: Preparesfinal submission

to CWCB w/Chairman’s Letter

(Includes dissentingopinion, if any)

2nd Roundtable75% Supermajority?

Yes

NoSTOP

SB 179CWCB BOARD MEETING

Statewide: March/Sept.In-Basin: Above + Jan, May

July, Nov

60 days prior

As of: March 31, 2009

Approved CWCB Mtg Basin StatewideArk Valley Conduit March 07 $0 $200,000Tamrisk $0 $50,000Upper Black Squirrel Recharge March 07 $45,200Ground Water Conference March 07 $24,721Fountain Creek Vision Task Force May 07 $75,000Round Mountain Water District May 07 $120,000Lower Ark Rotational Fallowing (Superditch) October 07 $150,000Upper Big Sandy Water Balance Jan 08 $45,000Transfers Subcommittee Facilitation Jan 08 $23,860

GARNA Arkansas Headwaters Diversion Improvements Jan 09 $57,955City of Las Animas March 08 $100,000 $200,000State Parks Zebra Mussel Response March 08 $1,000,000Colo. State University Basin wide investigation September 08 $100,000 $500,000Zero Liquid Discharge (La Junta R.O. Brine) September 08 $25,000 $700,000Upper Ark Conservancy Water Monitoring Devices September 08 $75,000 $210,332

Subtotal $783,781 $2,918,287PendingNon-Consumptive Needs Quantification May, 09 $148,975 $0Bedload/Sediment Removal and Collection System September, 09 $40,000 $145,000Groundwater Policy: Aquifer Storage and Recovery* July, 09 $20,000 $0

Subtotal $208,975 $145,000*Pending commitment by other Basin Roundtables (total: $60,000)

Total by Category Summary $992,756 $3,063,287IBCC/CWCB Allocation $1,000,000Remaining Funds $7,244

Conclusions: Could we work together?

My answer is YES!

The Basin Roundtables

Non-Consumptive Needs Assessment

Ag to Urban Water Transfers

KEY KEY FINDINGSFINDINGS

Total Gross Gap: 31,700 – 31,900 AF

Counties with largest gap: El Paso (unincorporated):

22,600 AF Increased demand: 9,250 AF Loss of existing groundwater

supplies: 13,350 AF Lake: 5,000 AF

Increased demand- Climax Mine, unincorporated areas, etc

Arkansas Basin Consumptive

Use Water Needs Assessment

Arkansas Basin Roundtable

Arkansas Basin Roundtable

Additional Challenges to

Meeting Demand in 2030

(i.e. need for major IP&Ps)

I. Technological, Operational, Regulatory Needs

Need for structures (e.g. SDS, Arkansas Valley Conduit)

Water quality issues Drinking water standards (affects wells w/ radionuclides)

Surface water quality standards (affects RO brine disposal)

Need for additional water rightsTotal Need: Approximately 45,200 AF

Non-Consumptive Needs Assessment

Configured on Hydraulic Unit Codes (HUC’s) and their attributes

Adopted at the April, 2008 Roundtable Meeting

WATERSHED

ATTRIBUTES

HUC 1

HUC 3

HUC 2

Non-Consumptive Needs Assessment:Non-Consumptive Needs Assessment:

HUC MethodologyHUC Methodology

The “Water for the 21st Century” Act

“Basin Roundtables shall actively seek input and advice in establishing its needs assessment, and shall propose projects or methods for meeting those needs.”

A Resource Document

Sustainability ValuesBearableViableEquitable

Projects and Methods MatrixExecutive Summary

The Colorado River is important

Sustainability Values

Economic

EnvironmentalSocial

Sustainability

Is it equitable?

Is it bearable?

Is it viable?

Summary of ScoresPlans and Projects Via

ble

Equi

tabl

e

Beara

ble

Com

posite

Preferred Storage Option Plan 3.93 4.26 4.14 12.33Round Mountain Water District well installation 3.86 4.07 4.21 12.13Arkansas Valley Conduit 3.71 4.26 4.14 12.11Upper Ark Conservancy Water Monitoring Devices 3.74 4.00 4.21 11.96Tamrisk Removal 3.86 4.28 3.76 11.89 Arkansas Headwaters Diversion Improvements 3.79 3.93 4.11 11.82Colo. State University Basin wide investigation (DSS?) 3.81 3.96 4.00 11.78State Parks Zebra Mussel Response 3.79 4.00 3.87 11.65Fountain Creek Flood Control and Mitigation 3.50 3.89 4.07 11.46Surface Storage construction 3.96 3.54 3.82 11.32Southern Delivery System 3.36 3.54 4.23 11.13Ground Water Recharge in Upper Ark Basin 3.32 3.85 3.61 10.78Bedload/Sediment Removal and Collection System 3.48 3.71 3.50 10.70Zero Liquid Discharge (La Junta R.O. Brine) 3.41 3.76 3.48 10.65Upper Black Squirrel Recharge 3.10 3.57 3.48 10.16City of Las Animas 2.96 3.48 3.63 10.08Stonewall Springs Quarry storage project 3.17 3.20 3.56 9.92Lake County Water Quality Improvments 3.00 3.15 3.15 9.30Aurora Box Creek Reservoir 2.52 2.86 3.19 8.56Buy and Dry-up of Agricultural Water Rights 2.31 2.24 3.30 7.85

Statewide Projects Viable Bearable Equitable Comp.Green Mtn Pumpback (Colorado River) 3.25 3.73 3.58 10.56Blue Mesa Pumpback/Aspinall Marketable Pool 3.39 3.65 3.42 10.47Flaming Gorge Import 3.34 3.46 3.14 9.95Yampa River Import 3.07 3.31 3.11 9.49Central Colorado Project (formerly Union Park) 2.54 2.30 2.48 7.31Mississippi Import project 2.60 1.93 2.75 7.28

Summary of Methods ScoresVoluntary Flow Agreement 4.54 4.54 4.31 13.46Municipal conservation 4.44 4.11 4.33 12.89Non-Native Phreatophyte removal 4.10 4.40 4.10 12.60Rotating Agricultural Fallowing 4.21 4.14 3.86 12.21Industrial Efficiency 4.00 4.00 3.78 11.78Trans-continental diversion 3.88 3.44 3.67 10.88Visioning Task Force 3.31 3.85 3.62 10.77Undeground Water Storage 3.31 3.69 3.46 10.46Deep Aquifer Storage 3.21 3.64 3.43 10.29In-Stream Flow via Water Trust 3.64 3.36 3.21 10.21Change Water Law: Not use it or lose it 2.22 3.00 2.78 8.00

Where do we go from here?Huge infrastructure costs ahead

Small projects

The Gap is not going away