Studies and Reports
Energy Needs, Climate Change and More
The waters of Western Colorado face constant political, legal, cultural and natural challenges and events that affect the quality and quantity of this most vital natural resource.
The River District works on behalf of its nearly half-million constituents to monitor these happenings and to protect the interests of this region.
This section of the website provides studies and reports regarding major issues that are shaping Western Colorado's water outlook and can be downloaded or received by request.
CWCB reviews initial results from Colorado River Water Availability Study
Preliminary results from a multi-year study on the Colorado River suggests the state still has water available to develop, but additional research is needed to better quantify how much, state water officials said. The draft results of Phase I of the Colorado River Water Availability Study were presented to the Colorado Water Conservation Board at its meeting on Jan. 27, 2010. The draft report will be released for public comment next month.-Full CWCB press release-Colorado Water Availability Study (3MB 144 page .pdf)This report estimates the water demands needed to support the extraction and production of natural gas, coal, uranium, and oil shale in northwest Colorado. The report was conducted in conformance with the legislative intent specified in House Bill 05-1177 and supported by the Colorado and Yampa/White River Roundtables. These Roundtables are seeking to use data and information from this study, in conjunction with the Statewide Water Supply Initiative and other appropriate sources, to assist with the development of a basin-wide consumptive and nonconsumptive water supply needs assessment. (1MB .pdf) NOTE: This draft report is subject to revision, has been approved by the Colorado River Basin Roundtable and is under review by the Yampa/White Basin Roundtable. To comment contact Dan Birch (970-945-8522, ext. 239) or by email or Greg Trainor (970-244-1564) or by email. Please include "Energy Report" in the subject line. (7 MB 58 page .pdf) The report is an assessment of Colorado climate change authored by scientists at NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory, the University of Colorado at Boulder, and Colorado State University. The CU-NOAA Western Water Assessment was produced for state water planners and provides scientific information on temperature, precipitation, snowmelt, and runoff for Colorado. 15 Mile Reach Report (March 2008) The "15 Mile Reach" of the Colorado River, a segment stretching east of Grand Junction for 15 miles, is important habitat for the four endangered fish species on whose behalf significant efforts are being made to recover their dwindling populations. This report examines a number of the criteria upon which recovery efforts are based.
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