KEYNOTE: Anne Castle, Assistant Secretary for Water & Science, Department of the Interior
Future:Colorado River water shortages - what's being done
Past: Our legacy - Water Wranglers- The 75-year History of the Colorado River District: A Story About the Embattled Colorado River and the Growth of the West
2011 Annual Water Seminar "Seeking Balance Under Imbalanced Conditions" Supply and Demand on an Imbalanced Colorado River Since 2007 a coalition of West Slope water users and Denver Water have been talking through a mediated agreement that will set a new tone and era of cooperation of how water is diverted to the East Slope while offering protections to the West Slope. This seminar provided an opportunity to learn about this work-in-progress.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration How big was the runoff? What do the new 30-year averages mean to forecasting? Kevin Werner, Hydrologist, Colorado River Basin Forecast Center For most of the last century and all this one, the West Slope and Denver Water have been contesting the manner and means of how the waters of the Colorado River can be moved from west to east to serve the metropolitan area. Risk Management Strategies for the Upper Colorado River Basin How should the risk of a Colorado River Compact curtailment on Colorado water users be viewed as new water development continues? Eric Kuhn, General Manager, Colorado River District
Rethinking the Future of the Colorado River A project of the Colorado University School of Law"s Natural Resources Law Center that re-examines the structure and functioning of the "Law of the River,"the suite of laws and policies governing water allocation and river management. Professor Mark Squillace, Director, Natural Resources Law Center
Stranger in a Strange Land: Lessons From an Extended Stay in Australia Brad Udall of the Western Water Assessment, a collaboration of Colorado University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration based in Boulder, lived in Adelaide, South Australia, from March to June 2011 working with the state's Department for Water. He will discuss his Australian experience and the many lessons that might be applied to Colorado's water problems.
Colorado River Cooperative Agreement Update What's up with the historical, proposed peace agreement between Denver Water and the West Slope in the battle over the Colorado River? What are the next steps to ratification? What lessons does the proposal hold for the Colorado River Basin as it tries to develop a comprehensive approach to dealing with the Front Range? How it might fit the overall strategy to develop Colorado River water? Peter Fleming, General Counsel, Colorado River District Dave Little, Director of Planning, Denver Water
West Slope Family Feud (or Not) Does the West Slope have anything more to offer the Front Range to help close the water-supply gap that will stalk a predicted doubling of Colorado's population by 2050? The Colorado River mainstem is about to give more. What can the other basin's do? John McClow, General Counsel, Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District, Colorado Water Conservation Board member, Interbasin Compact Committee member Panel of Four West Slope Roundtable members responding Previous Seminars 2010 "Minding the Gap" Sept. 16, 2010, Grand Junction, CO Program and presentations: Andy Mueller, President, Colorado River District Board of Directors Chris Treese, Manager, External Affairs Can the West Slope and Denver Water Find Common Ground? An examination of a mediated solution on a water supply future Jim Lochhead, CEO/Manager, Denver Water Eric Kuhn, General Manager, Colorado River District Peter Fleming, General Counsel, Colorado River District James Newberry, Commissioner, Grand County Mark Hermundstad, Attorney, Grand Valley Participants
State Water Funding Hits Drought. Can Climate Change Save It? Kathleen Curry, Colorado State Representative Good to the Last Drop: Operations on the Colorado River in the Lower Basin Terry Fulp, Lower Colorado River Deputy Director, Bureau of Reclamation (presentation)
Keynote Address: Anne Castle, Assistant U.S. Secretary of the Interior for Water and Science,Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C. Newly confirmed U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Interior Anne Castle addressed how changes in the Obama administration will effect water issues in the Colorado River Basin.
The Colorado River Water Availability Study: Reports on Consumptive Use and Hydrology Findings Ben Harding, AMEC Earth & Environmental Inc. Erin Wilson, Leonard Rice Engineers (presentation)
If There's Enough Water, Is There a Transmountain Diversion? Eric Kuhn, General Manager, Colorado River District (presentation) Eric Hecox, Section Chief, Colorado Water Conservation Board's Intrastate Water Management and Development Section (presentation) Mark Pifher, Director, Aurora Water
Can Colorado develop in-state agreements to ensure water is available for West Slope uses in the future? Or will it all go to the rapidly growing Front Range simple because it needs the water now? How should Colorado deal with the last increment of the Colorado River that can be developed? By law, Colorado must allow about 70 percent of the river and its tributaries flow past the state border to satisfy the Colorado River Compact and meet downstate obligations in California, Nevada and Arizona. It is a goal of the Colorado River District to avoid a compact curtailment in Colorado. In other river basins, such as the Arkansas and the South Platte local water users feel the economic pain of compact administration every year. How Colorado should deal with the last increment of the Colorado River that can be developed was examined at the 2008 Water Seminar.
Future energy development and its demand on water supplies in Western Colorado was explored. Looming questions, especially for oil shale development, concern water supply and water quality especially given the fact that Colorado faces limits on how much water it can develop from the Colorado River system and energy needs compete with population growth, agriculture, recreation and the environment.
2006 "River of Shortages: Drought, Demand and Consensus for the Colorado"
Focus was on the Seven States' shortages agreement forged earlier this year among Arizona, California, Nevada (the Lower Basin states) and Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico (the Upper Basin states).
COLORADO RIVER WATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT
P.O. Box 1120 - Glenwood Springs, CO 81602 - 201 Centennial, Suite 200 - Glenwood Springs, CO 81601
(970) 945-8522 FAX (970) 945-8799
