Colorado’s Liquid Gold:

Policy Responses to the 2002 Drought

Satellite Image, July 2002

Introduction: The Tangle of Colorado’s Water Rights

The Colorado Doctrine:All surface and groundwater in Colorado is a public resource for beneficial use by public agencies and private personsA water right is a right to use a portion of the public’s water resourcesWater rights owners may build facilities on the lands of others to divert, extract, or move waterWater rights owners may use streams and aquifers for the transportation and storage of water

Water Rights: Seniority Rules

Beneficial Use:

Municipal Conservation Strategies

Water Pricing Changes

Landscape Reform

Water Use Restrictions

Rebate Programs

Water Pricing Changes

Landscape Reform

Buffalo Grass Kentucky Bluegrass

Elain Lagana of Boulder and her daughter-in-law, Barbara Ivis, shop for xeriscaping plants at the Annual Plant & New Book Sale at the Denver Botanic Gardens in May. Ivis said she was xeriscapingbecause of the drought. Photo Taken from Rocky Mountain News.

Water Use Restrictions

Rebate Programs

State and Federal Conservation Initiatives

Interior Secretary Gale Norton

Gov. Bill Owens

Agriculture & Water

Lining a Canal

Supply Side Thinking: Water Development Projects

Water Bonds: $2 Billion for Colorado’s Lifeline

More water for growing communitiesDevelopment-oriented

Water Banking

Temporary water rights loans to water banks in each divisionMutual benefits for cities as well as farmers

Rocky Ford: A Case Study of Water Pressures

Rocky Ford: A Case Study of Water Pressures

Agriculturevs.

Urban Water Use

Agriculture: A Way of Life

Senior Water RightsCultural IdentityWater Use: The balance between City and Country

Old West Economy gives way to New West Urbanism

Growing urban population

Need for Development

Increasing water efficiency

Future of Water in Colorado: Agriculture vs. Population Growth

Can agriculture be sustained in Colorado, given the pressure on water resources and continued population growth? Can water demands be met without taking water away from agriculture?

Survey Results: What the People Think

Survey Information: completed between July 31st and August 2nd in Boulder, Colorado at King Soopers at 30th and Arapaho, Safeway at Arapaho and 28th, Target at 28th & Pearl, and the Farmer’s Market at 13th

and Arapaho

Purpose: To determine public perceptions of water use and preparedness for drought

Of the 73 people polled:34 Democrats9 Republicans3 Green 5 Other22 Non affiliated

Is the state prepared to deal with a water shortage?

a.) Yes (16) 22%

b.) No (52) 71%

c.)Don’t Know (6) 8.2%

What should the primary long-term strategy towards water shortages be?

a.) Conservation(53) 72%

b.) Water Development Projects (8) 11%

c.) Both (13) 18%

Conservation71%

Water Development

11%

Both 18%

Has your water use changed in the past year?

a.) Decreased (33) 45%

b.) Increased (14) 19.2%

c.) Stayed the Same (25) 34%

d.) Don’t Know (1) 1%