Fall 2009 The CWCB

Colorado Foundation For Water eduCation | Fall 2009

Colorado Foundation for Water Education1580 logan St., Suite 410 • denver, Co 80203

303-377-4433 • www.cfwe.org

Board MembersMatt CookPresident

Justice Gregory J. Hobbs, Jr.1st Vice President

rita Crumpton 2nd Vice President

Wendy HanophySecretary

taylor HawesAssistant Secretary

dale MitchellTreasurer

alan HamelAssistant Treasurer

Becky Brookstom Cech

rep. Kathleen Curryalexandra davisJennifer Gimbel

Callie HendricksonChris PiperJohn PorterChris rowe

rick Sackbauerrobert Sakatatravis Smith

Steve Vandiverreagan Waskom

Staffnicole Seltzer

Executive Director

david HarperOffice Manager

Kristin MahargEducation Program Associate

Currents................................................................................................... 1

CFWE Highlights. On.tour.along.the.Rio.Grande.......................................................... 2

Letter from the Editor ........................................................................... 3

An Endurance Event. The.CWCB’s.role.in.Colorado’s.water.history................................. 5

The CWCB Board of Directors............................................................. 10

At Water’s Helm. A.legacy.of.leadership.................................................................... 11

Advancing the Conversation. CWCB.director.Jennifer.Gimbel.on.Colorado’s.water.future....... 14

Dollars for Ditches…and Diversions and Dams. The.CWCB’s.loan.program............................................................. 18

Healthy Rivers Fund Streams Grants to Citizen-Driven Projects..... 21

Reconciliation on the River. The.CWCB’s.Instream.Flow.Program.matures.............................. 22

Climate Xtremes. The.art.and.science.of.disaster.aversion....................................... 26

On the Cover: Members of the Colorado Water Conservation Board’s Board of Directors, both voting and non-voting, are responsible for governing the

agency and setting the tone for water policy in the state. They are, from left to right: Carl Trick (North Platte), John Stulp (Dept. of Agriculture), April

Montgomery (San Miguel, Dolores, Animas & San Juan), John McClow (Gunnison & Uncompahgre), Reed Dils (Arkansas), Eric Wilkinson (South

Platte), Barbara Biggs (City & County of Denver), Travis Smith (Rio Grande), Harris Sherman (Dept. of Natural Resources), Geoff Blakeslee (Yampa &

White), Jennifer Gimbel (CWCB) and John Redifer (Colorado). Not pictured are Tom Remington (Division of Wildlife), Dick Wolfe (State Engineer) and

John Suthers (Attorney General). Photo ©2009 Rich Clarkson and Associates.

HEADWATERS | Fall 2009

Colorado Foundation For Water eduCation | Fall 2009

Mission Statement the mission of the Colorado Foundation for Water education is to promote better understanding of water resources through education and information. the Foundation does not take an advocacy position on any water issue.

Based in Boulder, Jerd Smith is an award-winning freelance writer and editor with an interest in water issues. She is a former fellow at the University of Colorado’s Center for Environmental Journalism and has won numerous awards, including Stanford University’s Risser Prize for environmental reporting. She also spent 11 years reporting for The Rocky Mountain News. George Sibley spent the last couple decades teaching journalism and regional studies at Western State College. While there, he coordinated the college’s annual fall Headwaters Conference, summer Water Workshop and spring Environmental Symposium. He currently serves on the board of the Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District and is a member of the Gunnison Basin Roundtable. He has written a handful of books including the most recent, Dragons in Paradise, a collection of essays about contemporary life from a mountain perspective. His essays and articles have appeared in publications including Harper’s Magazine, Technology Illustrated, High Country News and Colorado Central. He lives in Gunnison with his wife, Maryo Gard Ewell, and has two grown offspring, Sam and Sarah Sibley. Joshua Zaffos is a Fort Collins-based freelance writer who reports on the environment, science and politics. He has written for High Country News, Earth, 5280.com, Grist, Fly Fisherman, and Orion, among other publications. Zaffos has also worked as a staff writer and editor for several independent weeklies in northern Colorado. His work and musings are online at joshuazaffos.com.

Abigail Eagye is a freelance writer living in Carbondale. Growing up in Breckenridge, she developed a love for the state’s pristine beauty. She further fostered her passion for the outdoors while studying ecology in Vermont, Kenya and Northern California. She has since made her home in high country towns from Leadville to Vail to Aspen, where she’s currently the assistant editor at Aspen Sojourner magazine and teaches skiing in the winter. Laurie J. Schmidt is a science writer based in Fort Collins. She specializes in covering the earth and space sciences, including natural hazards and water resources. She has managed a NASA publication based at the National Snow and Ice Data Center and produced content for the Phoenix Mars Lander Mission Web site. In addition to her freelance work, she also currently manages the bi-monthly Colorado Water newsletter for the Colorado Water Institute. More of her work can be found at www.lschmidtsciwrite.com.

About the authors…

Acknowledgments the Colorado Foundation for Water education thanks the people and organizations who provided review, comment and assistance in the development of this issue.

Headwaters is a magazine designed to provide Colorado citizens with balanced and accurate information on a variety of subjects related to water resources. Copyright 2009 by the Colorado Foundation for Water education. iSSn: 1546-0584 edited by Jayla Poppleton. designed by emmett Jordan.

H e a d wat e r s | Fa l l 2 0 0 9 1

This. issue.of.Headwaters. focuses.on.the.programs.of. the.Colorado.Water.Conservation.Board,.a.state.agency.whose.staff.and.Board.members.often.meander.through.our.sto-ries..The.CWCB.is. involved.in.almost.every.facet.of.water.in.Colorado..It.works.with.the.Colorado.Attorney.General’s.Office. and. State. Engineer’s. Office. to. ensure. compliance.with.our.interstate.compacts.. It.works.with.the.Division.of.Wildlife. and. Colorado. State. Parks. to. identify. streams. for.instream.flow.protection..It.works.with.local.water.users.to.plan.for.Colorado’s.future.water.needs.and.improve.munici-pal.conservation.and.drought.preparedness.practices..The.list.goes.on.

The.agency.has.taken.many.hits.since.its.inception.in.1937,.and. likely.will. take.many.more..Due. to. the.public.and.political.nature.of.water. in. the.West,.the.CWCB.will.remain.in.the.crosshairs.as.long.as.it.continues.to.work.towards.its.mission.to.conserve,.develop,.protect.and.manage.Colorado’s.water.for.present.and.future.generations..

The. Colorado. Foundation. for. Water. Education. has. had. a. steady. partnership. with. the.CWCB.since.our.founding.in.2002..It.was.CWCB.support,.both.monetary.and.political,.that.got.the.Foundation.off.to.a.strong.start..To.facilitate.an.ongoing.relationship,.our.bylaws.require.representation.from.the.CWCB.and.the.Department.of.Natural.Resources.on.our.Board.of.Trustees..In.addition,.steady.financial.support.from.the.CWCB.helps.us.meet.our.mission.of.providing.balanced.and.accurate.water.education.programs.to.the.citizens.of.Colorado..

I.bring.this.up.for.two.reasons..One.is.in.the.interest.of.full.disclosure..While.the.CFWE.always.maintains.editorial.control.of.our.publications,.our. readers.should.know. that. the.subject.of.this.issue.of.Headwaters. is.a.primary.funder.of.the.Foundation..The.second.is.to.once.again,.and.publicly,.say.thank.you.to.the.staff.and.Board.members.of.the.Colorado.Water.Conservation.Board..For.conferring.with.us.when.we.need.their.expertise..For.help-ing. to. guide. us. as. we. grow. and. improve. our. programs.. For. encouraging. our. status. as.an. independent.organization..And. for. continuing. to.believe. in.our.mission.and.how.we.accomplish.it..

I. am. sure. that. all. of. our. readers. know. a. little. about. the. work. of. the. CWCB.. The.Foundation’s. goal. in. publishing. this. issue. of. Headwaters. is. to. help. you. understand. the.breadth. of. the. agency’s. work. and. how. it. influences. the. science. and. policy. of. water. in.Colorado..Happy.reading,.and.as.always.in.the.fall,.pray.for.snow!

Nicole.Seltzer,.Executive.Director

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2 C o lo r a d o F o u n dat i o n F o r wat e r e d u C at i o n

The. Colorado. Foundation. for. Water. Education. hosted. this.year’s.annual.river.basin.tour.in.the.San.Luis.Valley,.where.the.leading.authorities.on.the.Rio.Grande.River.shared.their.exper-tise.on.water.issues.in.the.basin..

Pre-tour. activities. included. an. educational. river. raft-ing. trip. and. a. tour. of. the. Acequias. of. Costilla. County—some. of. the. oldest. communal. waterways. in. the. nation.. In.all,. 114. participants. including. water. providers,. state. legisla-tors,. water. engineers,. lawyers. and. curious. citizens. enjoyed.two. sun-drenched. and. content-filled. days. in. the. valley..With. stops. at. various. ranches. and. farms,. a. fish. hatchery,. a.

solar.power.plant,.and.a.former.mining.facility,.tour.participants.received.a.relatively.comprehensive.view.of.water.resource.issues.in.the.Rio.Grande.Basin..The.tour.concluded.with.an.informative.presentation.on.the.hydrology.of.Great.Sand.Dunes.National.Park.

The.Rio.Grande.Basin. tour.was.one.of. the.most.success-ful. in. CFWE. history,. thanks. in. large. part. to. the. graciousness.of.tour.sponsors.and.the.water.experts.in.the.San.Luis.Valley.who. were. willing. to. share. their. knowledge. with. attendees..Next.year,.the.CFWE.will.hold.its.annual.tour.just.over.the.pass.from.the.Rio.Grande,.exploring.the.San.Juan,.San.Miguel.and.Dolores.basins.of.Southwestern.Colorado..

By David Harper

Participants in the 2009 Tour of the Rio Grande Basin pause for a photo on the Rio Oxbow Ranch near Creede (above). The tour also made stops at the Great Sand Dunes National Park (below) and the Alamosa National Wildlife Refuge (background), among others.

On tour along the Rio Grande

CFWE HigHligHts

The.2009.tour.would.not.have.been.possible.without.the.gener-ous.support.of.our.sponsors:.

MillerCoorsSouthwestern.Water.Conservation.DistrictBoard.of.Water.Works.of.PuebloRio.Grande.Water.Conservation.DistrictRio.Grande.Valley.Water.Users.AssociationSan.Luis.Valley.Water.Conservancy.DistrictColorado.Potato.Administrative.CommitteeSan.Luis.Valley.Irrigation.CompanyCarlson,.Hammond.&.Paddock

if. you. will.. Fickle. as. Colorado’s. climate,. Coloradans. quickly. shift. between. criticizing. the.state’s.lead.water-planning.agency.for.doing.too.much.or.too.little..Ever.since.the.Colorado.Water.Conservation.Board’s.earliest.days,.local.entities.have.resisted.the.Board’s.involve-ment…that. is,.when. times.are.good..But.when. the.going.gets.dry,.as.with. the. recurring.droughts.that.have.plagued.Colorado’s.past,.those.same.communities.change.their.tune..As.the.agency’s.deputy.director.Dan.McAuliffe.has.observed,.“The.CWCB.is.most. loved.in.times.of.the.worst.water.shortage.”.Over.the.years,.the.CWCB.has.inherited.a.growing.to-do.list.from.the.state.Capitol..The.agency.has.steadily.adapted.to.the.changing.values.embraced. by. the. state,. growing. to. address. such. issues. as. flood. and. drought. planning,.water.conservation,.endangered.species.recovery.and.watershed.rehabilitation..Over.the.past.six.years,.more.than.at.any.time.in.its.past,.the.CWCB.has.been.reaching.out.to.confer.with.citizens.of.every.stripe. to.ensure. it. is. truly.accounting. for.Colorado’s.best. interests.across.the.board..The.CWCB.has.not.been.without.critics..For.a.group.that.is.called.to.lead,.to. set. the. tone.and.create. the.policy. for. the. state,. theirs. is.no. simple. charge..You.can’t.please.everybody.all. the.time,.right?.But,.at. least.at. this.point. in. its.history,. it.seems.the.CWCB.is.seriously. trying..Read.on.to. trace.the.history.of. the.Board.with.Jerd.Smith..Let.me.introduce.you.to.some.of.the.Board’s.past.directors.and.citizen.representatives.and.the.leadership.example.they.set..Then.meet.the.Board’s.current.director,.Jennifer.Gimbel,.and.explore.the.biggest. issues.she.faces.today.with.George.Sibley..Walk.with.Smith.through.the.agency’s.loan.program.and.the.trouble.it.faces.due.to.the.state’s.budget.crisis..Then.dive.into.the.Board’s.Instream.Flow.Program.with.Josh.Zaffos.and.explore.how.the.evolv-ing.program.plays. into.current.events. in. the.Dolores.River.Basin..Find.out.how.a. lesser-known. program. is. funding. citizen. watershed. initiatives. from. Abigail. Eagye.. And. finally,.get.a.glimpse.of.Colorado’s.temperamental.climate.and.how.the.CWCB.helps.local.com-munities.prepare.with.Laurie.Schmidt..Our.kudos.to.those.who.are.willing.to.take.on.the.multi-faceted.responsibilities.delegated.to.the.Colorado.Water.Conservation.Board..Love.it.or.hate.it,.our.water.future.may.be.largely.in.your.hands.

Call it a love/hate relationship

H e a d wat e r s | Fa l l 2 0 0 9 3

Jayla Poppleton

Jayla Poppleton, Editor

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HiStory SHApES tHE CWCB

. 1922. Colorado.signs.La.Plata.River.Compact.with.New.Mexico

. 1922. Colorado.signs.Colorado.River.Compact.with.six.other.states:.the.lower.basin.(California,.Arizona,.Nevada).and.the.rest.of.the.upper.basin.(Wyoming,.Utah,.New.Mexico)

. 1923. Colorado.signs.South.Platte.River.Compact.with.Nebraska

. 1930s. Dust.Bowl

. 1937. CWCB.created

. 1938. Colorado.signs.Rio.Grande.River.Compact.with.New.Mexico

. 1942. Colorado.signs.Republican.River.Compact.with.Kansas.and.Nebraska

. 1944. Colorado.signs.Costilla.Creek.Compact.with.New.Mexico.

. 1948. Colorado.signs.Upper.Colorado.River.Basin.Compact.with.upper.basin.states

. 1969. Colorado.signs.Animas-La.Plata.Project.Compact.with.New.Mexico.and.the.Southern.Ute.and.Ute.Mountain.Ute.Indian.tribes

.1952-1956. Drought

. 1956. Colorado.River.Storage.Project.Act.passes.authorizing.construction.of.Lake.Powell,.Flaming.Gorge.Reservoir,.Aspinall.Unit.reservoirs.and.Navajo.Reservoir

. 1957. Colorado-Big.Thompson.Project.completed

. 1962. Authorizing.legislation.for.Fryingpan-Arkansas.Project.passed

. 1971. CWCB’s.Construction.Fund.created

. 1973. Instream.Flow.Program.created

.1974-1977. Drought

. 1977. Big.Thompson.Flood

. 1985. McPhee.Reservoir.completed

. 1988. CWCB.helps.start.Upper.Colorado.Recovery.Implementation.Program.to.recover.endangered.fish.species.on.the.Colorado.River.

. 1992. CWCB.helps.start.San.Juan.Recovery.Implementation.Program

. 1996. CWCB’s.Severance.Tax.Trust.Fund.Perpetual.Base.Account.created

. 1997. CWCB.signs.Platte.River.Recovery.Implementation.Program.agreement.with.Nebraska.and.Wyoming.to.recover.endangered.fish.and.bird.species

. 2001. Largest.CWCB.loan.at.the.time.made.to.Ute.Water—$27.million

.2001-2004. Drought

. 2003. Statewide.Water.Supply.Initiative.commences

. 2004. CWCB.loan.helps.finance.Elkhead.Reservoir.expansion—$11.million.

. 2005. Colorado.Water.for.the.21st.Century.Act.creates.the.Interbasin.Compact.Committee.and.roundtable.process

. 2006. CWCB.loans.$158.million.in.one.year

. 2007. CWCB.makes.largest.loan.to.date.for.Prairie.Waters.Project—$75.million.($87.million.loaned.in.one.year)

. 2008. CWCB.loans.$45.million.in.one.year

. 2009. $107.million.taken.from.CWCB.cash.pool.to.help.balance.state.budget.deficit

Timeline

H e a d wat e r s | Fa l l 2 0 0 9 5

tHE ColorAdo WAtEr ConSErvAtion BoArd’S rolE in ColorAdo’S WAtEr HiStory

On a warm Sunday evening in Meeker in 2003, the Colorado Water Conservation Board was arriving for a three-day meeting. Hotel rooms were nearly sold out. There were lines at the restaurants.

Typically about two dozen or so people comprise the CWCB’s formal entourage as it travels around the state, meeting every two months to conduct the public’s water business. In Meeker, the tiny, rustic Sleepy Cat Ranch resort just outside of town had the only conference room large enough to accom-modate the ranchers, attorneys, environmentalists and other citizens who also attended.

That meeting’s agenda would include two con-troversial issues at the time: the onset of the state’s pioneering effort to plan for future water supply statewide and its involvement in recreational water rights. It drew a large crowd, but it wasn’t the first time the CWCB’s role in establishing policy related to the state’s water would do that.

An Endurance EventBy Jerd Smith

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ForMAtion oF tHE ColorAdoWAtEr ConSErvAtion BoArdSelling.out.small.town.venues.is.something.the.CWCB.has.been.doing.since.its.incep-tion.72.years.ago,.when.state.and.federal.officials.hoped.the.new.agency.would.help.calm. Colorado’s. fractious. water. commu-nity.. When. Colorado’s. General. Assembly.created. the. Board. back. in. 1937,. the.nation.was.mired.in.the.Great.Depression..Colorado.farmers.were.watching.the.Dust.Bowl. sweep. away. thousands. of. acres. of.what.had.once.been.valuable.farm.land.

North.of.Denver,.a.controversial.feder-al.plan.to.bring.water.from.the.West.Slope.to.farmers.on.the.northern.Front.Range—the. Colorado-Big. Thompson. Project—was.about. to.be.approved.by.Congress..And. the. rancorous. split. between. West.Slope.and.East.Slope.communities.over.water.was.poised.to.explode.

The. Northern. Colorado. Water.Conservancy.District.was.forming.to.over-see.the.Colorado-Big.Thompson,.and.the.Western. Slope. Protective. Association.would. soon. organize. and. become. the.Colorado. River. Water. Conservation.District.. But. the. job. of. bringing. balance.to. the. state’s. often. unruly. water. com-munity. would. be. handed. to. the. new.Colorado.Water.Conservation.Board.

“It. was. a. grand. political. compro-mise,”. says. Eric. Kuhn,. general. man-ager. of. the. Colorado. River. District. who.served.on.the.CWCB.Board.of.Directors.between. 1992. and. 2001.. “These. three.entities.were.all.part.of.the.same.political.package. that. made. it. through. the. state.legislature.in.1937.”

“At. the. time. [1937],. there. was. no.umbrella. organization. within. the. state.that.could.facilitate.discussions.on.water.matters,. and. a. lot. of. it. had. to. do. with.

the. development. of. the. Colorado-Big.Thompson.Project,”.says.Eric.Wilkinson,.general. manager. of. the. Northern.Colorado. Water. Conservancy. District.and.current.CWCB.Board.member.

Once. the. CWCB. was. established,.then-Gov..Tellor.Ammons.appointed.nine.members.to.represent.each.of.the.state’s.eight. major. river. basins. and. Denver.on. the. CWCB’s. Board. of. Directors.. The.Board. would. have. its. own. staff. and.would. also. give. seats. to. some. of. the.most. powerful. people. in. state. govern-ment:. the. attorney. general,. the. agricul-tural. commissioner,. the. directors. of. the.state’s.Department.of.Natural.Resources.and.the.Division.of.Wildlife,.and.the.State.Engineer.. In. its. early. days. the. governor.was.chairman.of.the.Board.

Always.the.Board.traveled,.careful.to.listen. to. the. constituents. of. each. basin..“Everyone. was. supposed. to. put. their.geographic. concerns. aside. and. repre-sent. the. interests. of. the. whole. state,”.Kuhn.says..Water.officials.were.to.serve.“without.fear.or.favor.from.local.commu-nities,”. language. from. a. Colorado. River.District.oath.of.office.but.which.embod-ied. the. even-handed. spirit. meant. to.govern.each.of.the.newly.created.water.agencies,.including.the.CWCB.

From.the.beginning,.the.CWCB’s.mis-sion—to.conserve,.develop,.protect.and.manage. Colorado’s. water—has. been.daunting.. Colorado. sits. at. the. headwa-ters. of. some. of. the. country’s. mightiest.rivers,. feeding. streams. that. eventually.become. the. Missouri,. the. Mississippi,.the. Rio. Grande. and. of. course,. the.Colorado,. among. others.. The. CWCB. is.responsible. for. protecting. Colorado’s.water. supply. entitlements. under. two.Supreme. Court. decrees. and. nine. inter-

state. water. compacts,. powerful. legal.agreements. that. dictate. how. Colorado.must.share.its.supplies.with.other.states...

ConSErvAtion, A utilitAriAn viEWNot.long.after.its.creation,.the.CWCB.was.immersed. in. negotiations. not. only. with.the.federal.government.over.the.Colorado-Big. Thompson,. but. with. other. western.states.on.compact.issues.and.with.dozens.of. entities. within. Colorado’s. own. bor-ders.. Over. time,. despite. the. conflict. that.often. brewed. at. the. Continental. Divide,.the. Board. was. able. to. marshal. a. broad.consensus.resulting.in.strategically.placed.reservoirs.across. the.state—including. the.McPhee,.Dallas.Creek.and.Animas-La.Plata.reservoirs.in.the.San.Juan.Basin;.the.Blue.Mesa. Reservoir. in. the. Gunnison. Basin;.the. Green. Mountain,. Granby. and. Ruedi.reservoirs. in. the. upper. Colorado. River.Basin;.the.Carter,.Horsetooth.and.Boulder.reservoirs.in.the.South.Platte.River.Basin;.and.Pueblo.Reservoir.in.the.Arkansas.River.Basin.. The. reservoirs,. largely. federally-funded,. would. help. the. state. “conserve”.water.by.storing.it.before.it.was.lost.down-stream,.protecting.Colorado’s.ability.to.use.its. compact. entitlements. and. providing.much-needed. water. to. arid. agricultural.regions.and.growing.communities..

In.the.beginning,.however,.the.agen-cy. had. no. money. to. invest. in. such.projects.itself..In.1971,.under.Republican.Gov..John.Love,.state.lawmakers.created.a.Construction.Fund.that.gave.the.CWCB.new.power.to.help.communities.develop.water.. “Prior. to. that,. the. Board’s. pri-mary.role.was.as.a.wheeler.and.dealer,”.explains.Jennifer.Gimbel,.director.of.the.CWCB..“It.was.always.trying.to.facilitate.conversations.among.parties.and. trying.to. eke. out. whatever. we. could. seek. out.

From the beginning, the CWCB’s mission—to conserve, develop, protect and manage Colorado’s water—has been daunting.

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H e a d wat e r s | Fa l l 2 0 0 9 7

from. the. federal.government..But. legis-lators. finally. realized. we. needed. some.money. to. help. farmers. improve. their.systems..We.were.then.able.to.parcel.out.that.money..It.was.enough.to.be.helpful.and.that’s.still.the.need.we.meet.today.”

For.decades,.the.Board.was.known.for.its.ultra-conservative.stance.on.water.. Its.members. were. almost. exclusively. water.rights. holders,. representing. farmers. or.the. state’s.biggest. cities. and.water.proj-ects..These.“water.buffaloes”.were.strict.disciplinarians,. intent. on. sticking. to. the.state’s. prior. appropriation. doctrine—the.first-in-time,.first-in-right.rule.that.governs.the.West’s.scarce.water.supplies.

“When. the. Board. was. formed,. con-servation.meant.to.harness.water.to.use.it.to.build.the.West,”.says.Gimbel..“So.I.think.the.Board.was.predominantly.made.up. of. folks. interested. in. developing. the.state.economically,.especially.during.the.1940s,.1950s.and.1960s.”

During. that. time,. the. Board. also.lobbied. for. passage. of. such. legislation.as. the. Colorado. River. Storage. Project.Act. of. 1956,. which. authorized. the. con-struction.of.Glen.Canyon.Dam,.Flaming.Gorge. Reservoir,. Navajo. Reservoir.and. the. Aspinall. Unit. in. Colorado.. The.CWCB. director,. as. Colorado’s. Upper.Colorado.River.Compact.Commissioner,.would. represent. Colorado. in. the. devel-opment. of. annual. operating. plans.for. those. reservoirs. in. order. to. main-tain. Colorado’s. ability. to. manage. its.water. resources. independently. from.the. other. Colorado. River. Basin. states..

ConSErvAtion, AS in EnvironMEntAl protECtionIt. wasn’t. until. the. 1970s. and. the. advent.of. the.environmental.movement. that. the.more.modern.concept.of.conservation—

to.save.and.protect.water.in.streams,.rath-er.than.to.divert.and.store—began.to.take.hold..The.era.would.bring.major.changes..In.1973,.Colorado.became.one.of.the.first.Western.states.to.allow.water.to.be.kept.in.streams.for.the.benefit.of.the.environ-ment.through.the.Instream.Flow.Program..The.CWCB.was.charged.with.developing.the. program.. It. was. a. radical. departure.from. the. way. water. had. been. managed.since.mining.days,.when.the.only.benefi-cial.uses.recognized.were. those.by.min-ers,.farmers.and.city.dwellers.

“The. instream. flow. statute. was.monumental,”. says.Wilkinson.. “It.was.a.whole. new. thing,. and. there. was. resis-tance. from. the. more. traditional. water.users.. The. Instream. Flow. Program. was.adding.another.beneficial.use.that.didn’t.involve.water.leaving.the.stream.”

Still,.the.Board.had.little.cash.to.buy.water. rights. for. environmental. purpos-es.. It. wasn’t. until. 2008. that. lawmakers.allowed. it. to. use. $1. million. annually. to.purchase.senior.water.rights.for.instream.flows,.rights.old.enough.to.ensure.there.will.be.water.for.fish.even.in.dry.years.

By. the. 1980s,. it. was. apparent. that.several. declining. fish. species. native. to.the.Colorado.River.system.would.receive.federal.protection.under.the.Endangered.Species. Act.. In. order. to. protect. water.users’. ongoing. ability. to. develop. water.from. the.Colorado.and.other. rivers,. the.CWCB.helped.establish.a.series.of.recov-ery. programs. designed. to. provide. ade-quate.flows.for.the.fish..

The. Upper. Colorado. Recovery.Implementation. Program. was. signed.first. in. 1988.. Four. years. later,. the. San.Juan.Recovery.Implementation.Program.was.added,.and.in.2007,.the.Platte.River.Recovery. Implementation. Program. with.Wyoming.and.Nebraska.officially.began..

“The. importance. of. these. programs.often. gets. overlooked,”. says. Randy.Seaholm,. chief. of. the. CWCB’s. Water.Supply.Protection.Section..“But.they.are.critical. to. Colorado’s. ability. to. utilize. its.water. resources. without. an. overabun-dance.of.federal.involvement.”.

According. to. Seaholm,. the. Upper.Colorado. Recovery. Implementation.Program.has.resulted.in.more.than.1,500.successful. Endangered. Species. Act.Section.7.consultations—a.favorable.con-sultation.allows.a.project.to.go.forward—from. the. U.S.. Fish. and. Wildlife. Service,.the.agency.that.determines.whether.the.programs. are. making. “sufficient. prog-ress”. toward. recovery. of. the. species..The.current.target.for.recovery.of.the.four.Colorado.River.endangered.fish.is.2023...

WAtEr For rECrEAtionSoon,. in. addition. to. loaning. money,.negotiating.compact. issues,. implement-ing.flood.protection.plans.and.managing.water. for. the. environment. and. endan-gered.species,.the.Board.would.be.faced.with.one.of.the.biggest.battles.in.its.his-tory—allocating. water. for. recreational.purposes,.for.kayaking.and.rafting.

Glenn. Porzak. is. a. water. attorney.and. legendary. foe. of. the. CWCB.. He.represents. some. of. Colorado’s. largest.ski. resorts. and. resort. towns. and. bat-tled. aggressively. from. the. mid-1980s.to. the.mid-1990s. to.secure.water. rights.for. kayak. courses. for. such. communi-ties. as. Golden,. Vail,. Breckenridge. and.Steamboat.Springs.

Most. of. the. applications. for. those.rights,. known. as. recreational. in-chan-nel.diversions,.or.RICDs,.were.opposed.by.the.CWCB,.but.Porzak.and.the.resort.towns. prevailed. in. court. again. and.again..“The.CWCB.appealed.all.but.one.

“The instream flow statute was monumental. It was a whole new thing, and there was resistance from the more traditional water users.”

— Eric Wilkinson


of.the.cases.all.the.way.to.the.Colorado.Supreme.Court.and.lost.at.the.trial.level.and. the. Supreme. Court. level,”. Porzak.says.. Even. at. the. Supreme. Court,.however,. the. issue. was. divisive.. The.justices. deadlocked. in. a. three-three.vote,. with. Justice. Greg. Hobbs. recus-ing. himself,. in. the. Golden,. Vail. and.Breckenridge. cases,. leaving. the. origi-nal. water. court. decisions—to. uphold.the.RICDs.as.valid—intact.

Bitterness. still. lingers. over. those.cases,. but. Gimbel. and. others. say. the.Board. was. in. a. tough. position,. with.few.guidelines.from.lawmakers.on.how.to. implement.a.controversial,.progres-sive.law..“The.RICDs.were.thrust.upon.us. by. the. legislature,. and. it. left. a. bad.taste. in. everyone’s. mouth,”. Gimbel.says.. “Our. mission. is. to. balance,. and.we.are. responsible. for. the.population,.to. ensure. there. is. water. for. every-one.. We. have. to. protect. those. rights.and. we. take. our. job. very. seriously.”.

WAtEr For tHE FuturEOnce. the. drought. of. 2002. struck,. the.CWCB.was.in.the.hot.seat.again..One.of.the.worst.droughts.in.modern.times,.the.epic.dry.spell.threatened.the.entire.state..And. it. prompted. the. CWCB. to. begin. a.groundbreaking. effort. to. plan. for. the.future. to. ensure. Coloradans. would. not.run.out.of.water..Known.as.the.Statewide.Water. Supply. Initiative,. or. SWSI,. the.survey. and. study. aimed. to. define. how.much. water. existed,. how. much. was.used.each.year.and.how.much.would.be.needed.in.the.future.

“It.was.probably.the.first.time.that.we.really. reached. out,. basin-by-basin. and. to.communities,. and. asked. them. to. partici-pate.in.long-term.water.planning.and.proj-ects,”.says.Russell.George,.former.execu-tive.director.of.the.Department.of.Natural.Resources. who. now. heads. the. Colorado.Department.of.Transportation.

SWSI. drew. fire. from. all. sides. of. the.political. spectrum.. Western. Slope. com-

munities.saw.it.as.a.raw.attempt.by.Front.Range.policy.makers.to.find.all. the.water.that.was.left.and.craft.a.way.to.divert.it.to.the. Front. Range.. Environmentalists. had.similar. concerns—that. streams. would. be.left. dry.. Even. Front. Range. water. utilities.viewed.SWSI.as.the.state.meddling.in.their.closely.guarded.water.portfolios.

As. CWCB. staffers. and. water. con-sultants. fanned. out,. they. gathered. data.and. presented. it. at. night. meetings. from.Longmont.to.Gunnison..Though.few.were.happy. with. the. Board. at. the. time,. the.process.took.the.CWCB.out.of. its.narrow.water.world.and.thrust.it.onto.the.agendas.of.city.councils.and.county.commissions.

“SWSI.gave. the.Board.a.higher.pro-file. and.a.broader. reach,”.George. says..“In.its.earlier.history,.it.had.been.a.game.of.inside.baseball,.as.the.water.business.can. be.. This. was. the. CWCB’s. first,. if.not.its.biggest,.acknowledgement.of.the.need.for.outreach.”

SWSI’s. data. laid. the. groundwork. for.

“SWSI gave the Board a higher profile and a broader reach…This was the CWCB’s first, if not its biggest, acknowledgement of the need for outreach.” —Russell George

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the. Interbasin. Compact. Process,. a. state-funded. effort. spearheaded. by. George.in. 2005. that. now. works. in. parallel. with.the. CWCB.. The. process. includes. round-tables. in. each. of. the. state’s. river. basins,.forums. for. public. discussion. of. how. to.share. water. between. basins. and. coop-erate. to. plan. for. future. water. supply...

BACk to itS rootS, uniting tHE StAtEBarbara. Biggs,. Denver’s. representa-tive.on. the.Board.since.2004,.believes.the.work. surrounding.SWSI. is. “critical.to. the. state. thinking. like. a. state.”. The.CWCB. is. now. building. portfolios. of.different. alternatives. that. could. meet.future.water.demand,.says.Biggs,.who.is. also. government. affairs. officer. for.the. Metro. Wastewater. Reclamation.District.. As. the. process. unfolds,. she.acknowledges. some. people’s. frustra-tion. with. the. slow. pace,. but. says,.“The. reality. is. that. until. we’ve. tried. to.address. everybody’s. concerns,. I. don’t.know. how. we. get. to. concrete. solu-tions,. and.clearly. there.are. issues. that.still. need. to. be. looked. at.. If. we. don’t.study. them,.we’re.never.going. to.stop.talking.about.them.”.

Another. criticism. of. the. process,.

according.to.the.Board’s.Arkansas.Basin.representative. Reed. Dils,. has. been. the.lack. of. cooperation. exhibited. between.the. East. Slope. and. West. Slope. round-tables. in. the. form. of. projects. com-ing. through. for. Water. Supply. Reserve.Account. funding.. The. reserve. account,.which. has. a. $10. million. annual. alloca-tion,. funds. projects. identified. through.the.roundtables,.with.final.approval.com-ing.from.the.Board..Dils.says.the.Board.is.beginning.to.prioritize.projects.that.dem-onstrate. cooperation. across. the. divide..After.72.years,.the.Board.is.still.trying.to.bring.the.state.together..

Reed,.Biggs,.and.Wilkinson,.who.has.represented. the.South.Platte.River.Basin.on.the.Board.since.2000,.along.with.their.colleagues,. continue. to. drive. thousands.of.miles.each.year.to.meetings.and.spend.another. 30. to. 40. hours. a. month. read-ing.the.engineering.reports,.the.research.papers.and.the.lawsuits.that.comprise.the.Board’s.work.each.year..A.typical.meeting.binder.is.4.or.5.inches.thick..

The. Board. still. includes. more. tradi-tional. water. users,. including. water. dis-tricts,. ranchers. and. farmers.. But. as. the.state.has.evolved,.the.Board’s.leadership.has.changed.as.well,.with.some.current.

members. coming. from. backgrounds. in.both. recreation. and. the. environment,.including. both. Dils,. who. retired. from.the. rafting. business,. and. the. Board’s.chair.Geoff.Blakeslee,.who.works.for.The.Nature.Conservancy..April.Montgomery,.of. the. Telluride. Foundation,. is. the. most.recent. appointment. to. the. Board. and.represents.the.Southwestern.basins..

Travis.Smith,. the.Rio.Grande.Basin’s.representative.on. the.Board.since.2005,.operates. a. family. ranch. in. Del. Norte.and. runs. the. San. Luis. Valley. Irrigation.District..His.goal.is.that.the.Board.would.truly. set. the. tone. for. the. state. in. terms.of. water. planning.. “Sometimes. we. get.bogged.down.in.the.weeds.on.a.particu-lar.issue..Our.tendency.is.to.just.react.to.the.current.situation,.whatever.the.crisis.is.now..But.I.think.the.Board.has.to.have.a.longer-term.view,.to.have.a.plan.and.a.vision.of.what.it’s.going.to.take.to.meet.the.future.needs.and.demands.”.

As.the.Board.continues.to.traverse.the.state. in. its. conduct. of. Colorado’s. water.business,. it. will. have. to. be. long-winded,.says.Smith..“Water.projects.can.take.over.30.years.to.complete..You’ve.got.to.be.able.to.take.baby.steps.sometimes,.because.it’s.a.long,.long.race.” q

Current.Board.basin.representatives:.

North Platte River BasinCarl.Trick,.appointed.in.2006.and.re-appointed.in.2009Member of the Jackson County Water Conservancy District board of directors,.rancher

South Platte River BasinEric.Wilkinson,.appointed.in.2000.and.re-appointed.in.2009General manager of the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District

Arkansas River BasinReed.Dils,.appointed.in.2008Member of the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District board of directors,.Retired from outfitting and rafting business

Rio Grande River BasinTravis.Smith,.appointed.in.2005.and.re-appointed.in.2008Superintendent of the San Luis Valley Irrigation District, rancher

San Miguel, Dolores, Animas and San Juan River BasinsApril.Montgomery,.appointed.in.2009Member of the Southwestern Water Conservation District board of directors, programs director for the Telluride Foundation

Gunnison/Uncompahgre River BasinsJohn.McClow,.appointed.in.2009General counsel for the Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District

Colorado River Basin MainstemJohn.Redifer,.appointed.in.2004.and.re-appointed.in.2007Professor of political science at Mesa State College

Yampa/White River BasinsGeoff.Blakeslee,.appointed.in.2007Yampa Valley Project director for The Nature Conservancy

City and County of DenverBarbara.Biggs,.appointed.in.2004.and.re-appointed.in.2007Government affairs officer for the Metro Wastewater Reclamation District

The. Colorado. Water. Conservation. Board’s. Board. of. Directors.is. comprised. of. ten. voting. members.. Each. Board. member. is.appointed.by.the.governor.and.confirmed.by.the.state.Senate..This.ensures. that. two. branches. of. government. have. input. on. each.member’s. appointment. and,. ultimately,. in. the. policy. direction. of.the.agency..Voting.members.include.representatives.from.each.of.eight.major.river.basins.in.the.state.as.well.as.the.city.and.county.of.Denver..They.are.appointed.for.three-year.terms,.but.often.serve.for.multiple.consecutive.terms..No.more.than.five.members.can.be.from.the.same.political.party..The.executive.director.of.the.state’s.Department. of. Natural. Resources. is. the. tenth. vote. on. the. Board..Five.ex-officio.members.who.do.not.have.a.vote.provide.informa-tion. and. counsel. to. the. Board. based. on. their. relevant. expertise..These. include. the. CWCB’s. director,. the. State. Engineer,. the. agri-cultural.commissioner,.the.attorney.general.and.the.director.of.the.Division.of.Wildlife.....

The.Board.meets.every.two.months.in.various.locations.around.the.state..Meetings.are.open.to.the.public,.and.a.calendar.can.be.accessed.at.www.cwcb.state.co.us..

The CWCB Board of Directors

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With. the. 72-year-old. Colorado. Water.Conservation. Board,. there. is. no. short-age. of. characters. who. have. worn. the.temporary.hat.of.director-in-chief.or.car-ried. a. powerful. Board. of. Directors. vote.that. could. uphold. or. stymie. any. given.water.project.seeking.state.support..Each.had.his.or.her.own.leadership.style.and.strengths,. but. the. quality. that. the. most.effective. among. them. shared. was. a.statewide.vision..

“They. had. this. idea. that. what. they.were. doing. was. whatever. needed. to.be. done. to. the. best. interest. of. water.in. Colorado,”. says. Fred. Anderson,.who. had. worked. with. several. CWCB.directors. from. his. Senate. seat. in. the.Colorado. General. Assembly,. a. position.he.held. from.1966.to.1982..“The.major-ity. of. those. that. served. on. the. Board,”.Anderson. continues,. “had. that. same.type. of. interest.. They. wanted. to. make.sure.that.things.went.right.”

Felix Sparks, the agency’s third and longest-serving director,. was. hired. in.the. midst. of. a. heated. West. Slope.versus.East.Slope.battle.over.the.mas-sive. transmountain. diversion. known.as. the. Fryingpan-Arkansas. Project.. At.the.time,.the.governor.served.as.chair-man.of.the.water.planning-.and.policy-focused. CWCB’s. Board. of. Directors,.and.he.refused.to.call.meetings.because.

things.were.such.a.mess..“There. were. maybe. one. and. a. half.

years. there. that. there. were. no. Board.meetings,”. recalls. Bill. McDonald,. a. for-mer.CWCB.director.and.now.director.of.the.U.S..Bureau.of.Reclamation’s.Pacific.Northwest. Region.. “Things. were. not.always.copacetic.on.the.Board.”

Gov.. Stephen. McNichols. looked.to. Sparks,. who. had. recently. left. the.Colorado. Supreme. Court. to. return. to.his.law.practice.in.Delta,.Colo.,.for.help..“The.governor.asked.Felix.to.be.his.per-sonal. emissary. as. the. attorney. for. the.Board.to.try.to.put.things.back.together,”.says.McDonald..Sparks.took.a.hard.look.at. the. Board,. suggested. changes. such.as.a. larger.budget.and.supporting.staff,.and.was.quickly.appointed.the.agency’s.director. in. 1958.. After. that,. the. Board.starting.meeting.again..

For. the.next.20.years,.Sparks.would.lead.the.CWCB,.becoming,.as.McDonald.puts. it,. “an. institution. unto. himself.”.A. decorated. veteran. of. World. War. II,.Sparks.was.a.born.leader..Helping.get.the.authorizing.legislation.for.the.Fryingpan-Arkansas. Project. passed. in. 1962. was.only. one. of. many. battles. he. fought. for.Colorado’s.water..

His.strength.was.his.political.prowess.and.his.willingness.to.take.on.people.he.didn’t.agree.with..“He.was.certainly.will-ing.to.take.on.the.Feds,”.says.Anderson..

But.he.also.recognized.his.responsibility.to.do.the.work.delegated.to.him.despite.his. personal. opinion,. a. character. trait.his. military. background. may. have. had.something.to.do.with..

When McDonald, a fifth-generation Coloradan, took over the position. in.1979,. he. made. no. attempt. to. fill. the.shoes.of. the.man.he.considered.“a. leg-end.”.Rather,.he.elected.to.approach.the.job.his.own.way..

The. CWCB’s. citizen. board,. of. which.there. were. several. long-tenured. mem-bers.when.McDonald.donned.the.direc-tor’s.hat,.proved.invaluable.to.the.young.Greeley.native,.who.felt.he.was.“drinking.from.a.fire.hose.for.the.first.couple.years.on. the. job.”. McDonald. was. also. quick-ly. supported. in. his. role. on. the. Upper.Colorado. River. Commission. when. the.governor. appointed. Sparks. a. commis-sioner.. “I. couldn’t. ask. for. a.better.piece.of. institutional. knowledge. and. political.savvy. when. it. came. to. Colorado. River.issues,”.says.McDonald.

McDonald’s.contributions.to.Colorado.included. the.Colorado.Ute. Indian.Water.Rights. Settlement,. which. he. spent. four.years. and. 3,000. hours. working. on. as.the. state’s. lead. negotiator.. The. agree-ment.was.key.in.bringing.closure.to.the.tribes’. claims. for. water. and. providing.the. ultimate. impetus. for. the. Animas-La.

At WAtEr’s HElm

Clifford n. Stone1937-1953

ivan C. Crawford1953-1958

Felix l. Sparks1958-1979

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Plata. Project.. He. also. worked. closely.with.the.Colorado.Department.of.Natural.Resources. director. at. the. time,. David.Getches,. in.negotiating.the.first.plan.for.recovery.of.the.four.native.Colorado.River.fish.species.that.are.listed.as.threatened.and.endangered..The.program.matured.into. what. is. now. the. Upper. Colorado.Recovery.Implementation.Program..

McDonald.was.known.to.draft.lengthy.memos. to. the. Board. in. preparation. for.strenuous. two-day. meetings. involving.dozens.of.important.decisions..He.would.lay. out. the. pros. and. cons. on. each.issue.and.provide.recommendations..At.that. time,. the. director. still. had. a. vote.on. the. Board—it. was. removed. during.McDonald’s.tenure—but.he.found.it.awk-ward.and.insisted.on.voting.only.when.a.tie-breaker.was.needed..He.established,.however,. respect. among. the. Board.members.as.“he.was.able.to.understand.all. the. nuances. of. the. job. from. a. legal.perspective,”. says. Jim. Lochhead,. attor-ney.and.former.DNR.director.

McDonald.was,. and. is,. also. consid-ered. “really. smart,”. to. the. point. that.David.Harrison,.a.prominent.water.law-yer. who. served. on. the. Board. from.1989. to. 1997,. says. the. Board. could.not.always.keep.up..“One.of. the.things.about. having. such. high. brainpower. in.the.directorship.was.that.we.would.tend.to.defer.to.him.a.little..It.hearkened.back.to. the. older. tradition. of. Felix. Sparks..[Felix]. was. so. smart. and. had. a. totally.dominant.personality..The.Board.would.tend.to.rubber.stamp.him.”

Two years after McDonald left, director Daries (Chuck) Lile, whose time in office was cut short by illness,.stepped.in,.lend-ing.his.own.flavor.to.the.job..As.a.leader,.“he. was. more. in. this. concept. of. being.a. coordinator,. a. facilitator,. and. bringing.everybody.together,”.recalls.Harrison..

Lile.was.hired.in.1992.by.Ken.Salazar,.then. director. of. DNR,. on. the. heels. of. a.controversial. double-resignation. by. the.former. State. Engineer,. Jeris. Danielson,.and.CWCB.director,.David.Walker..When.Salazar. hired. Lile. and. then,. as. State.Engineer,. Hal. Simpson,. part. of. the. deal.was.that.there.was.going.to.be.a.new.era.of.working. together,.says.Harrison..And.there. was.. “That. was. a. key. thing. that.Chuck.Lile.brought.to. it,”.says.Harrison..“A.new.degree.of.collaboration.and.com-munication.between.the.two.water.agen-cies.in.the.state.”..

Following.the.1985.lawsuit.that.Kansas.brought. against. Colorado. for. overusing.its.apportionment.of.the.Arkansas.River,.Simpson. and. Lile. began. to. convene.working.groups.in.the.Arkansas.Basin.to.discuss.what.could.be.done..

“The.water.users.in.the.basin.didn’t.like.the.proposed.rules.[from.the.State.Engineer’s. Office]. and. didn’t. trust. the.state,”.recalls.Lochhead,.who.succeed-ed. Salazar. as. DNR. director. in. 1994..“Lile. and. Simpson. went. on. the. road..They. sat. in. coffee. shops. and. on. front.porches.and.got.complete.buy-in.from.the.water.users.”.Lile,.whose.strengths.were. his. personality. and. his. ability.to. sit. down. and. talk. one-on-one. with.

people,. says. Lochhead,. was. critical. to.achieving.that.success..

Like Harrison, Lochhead was a water lawyer who, prior to becoming DNR director, served. on. the. CWCB. Board.beginning. in. 1983.. When. McDonald.left. in. 1990,. Lochhead. took. over. as.Colorado’s. lead. negotiator. on. the.Upper. Colorado. River. Commission,. a.role. usually. reserved. for. the. head. of.the. CWCB.. “Jim. was. a. very. capable.attorney,. and. he. became. a. very. adept.negotiator,”.says.Sara.Duncan,.Denver.Water’s.manager.of. intergovernmental.affairs.who.served.as.an.interim.CWCB.director.for.less.than.one.year.in.1992,.prior.to.Lile’s.appointment..

Lochhead.spent.a.decade.negotiating.a. surplus. agreement. on. the. Colorado.River. where. the. downstream. state. of.California. agreed. to. reduce. its. surplus.uses. of. water. by. 800,000. acre. feet.. “It.was.a.very.significant.event.on.the.river,”.says.Lochhead,.who.was.extremely.sat-isfied.with.the.outcome.

Immediately.after.signing.the.surplus.agreement,. Colorado. was. hit. by. the.record. drought. of. the. early. 2000s,. and.Lochhead. found. himself. engaged. in. a.new.set.of.negotiations.leading.to.short-age. guidelines. in. the. Colorado. River’s.lower. basin.. At. that. point,. he. had. left.DNR. and. instead. represented. some. of.the. state’s. bigger. districts. and. cities.in. the. negotiations.. Rod. Kuharich. had.become.the.CWCB.director.and.had.the.lead.in.the.new.negotiations,.a.plausibly.

J. William Mcdonald1979-1990

david Walker1990-1992

daries C. lile1992-1998

H e a d wat e r s | Fa l l 2 0 0 9 1 3

awkward. situation. since. Kuharich. was.hired.under.Republican.Gov..Bill.Owens,.while.Lochhead.had.been.appointed.by.a.Democratic.administration..“It.had.the.potential.to.be.partisan,”.says.Lochhead,.“but. [Kuharich]. put. that. aside. and.embraced.me.as.a.member.of.the.team..That. was. critical. to. the. successes. we.achieved.in.those.negotiations.”.

Avoiding.the.pursuit.of.narrow.inter-ests.and.partisanship.was.certainly.nec-essary. to. be. effective,. says. Harrison..“Anybody. with. a. real. local. viewpoint,. a.single. issue. viewpoint,. didn’t. get. much.done.”. Harrison. understood. that. from.the. start.. With. a. reputation. as. a. tradi-tional.water.lawyer.who.had.done.some.work. for. The. Nature. Conservancy,. he.says.he.was.appointed. to. represent. the.South.Platte.Basin.in.1991.because.Gov..Roy.Romer.wanted.a. little.green.on. the.Board,.but.not.someone.radical..Harrison.was. exactly. that.. He. worked. alongside.the. more. traditional. Board. members.who. had. ranching,. farming. or. water.utility. backgrounds,. and. he. looked. for.common. ground.. The. Board. operated.on.a.consensus.basis.during.his.tenure,.a.method.he.hopes.he.contributed.to.

Many challenges, including the Instream Flow Program, spanned from one direc-torship to the next. It.was.Fred.Anderson.who.first.sponsored.the.bill. in.1973.that.created.the.program.and.handed.it.to.the.CWCB.to.oversee..Sparks,.then.director,.was. not. overly. enthusiastic. about. the.newly. created. task. at. the. time,. recalls.

Anderson..“But.whether.he.agreed.total-ly.or.not,.the.fact.that.it.was.there.and.it.was.to.be.done,.he.did.it..And.I.think.he.got.it.off.to.a.strong.start.”

Years. later. Kuharich,. a. personality.many. conservationists. might. not. have.considered. a. friend. in. office. given. his.municipal. water. supply. background. at.Colorado. Springs. Utilities,. was. the. first.CWCB. director. to. place. a. call. on. the.river. based. upon. instream. flow. filings..“It. caused. quite. a. stir. among. the. water.users,”. recalls. Kuharich,. who. is. now.executive. director. of. the. South. Metro.Water. Supply. Authority.. “But. the. stat-utes. clearly. directed. me. to. protect. the.instream. flows. and. that’s. what. I. was.bound.and.determined.to.do.”.

Kuharich,. as. director. from. 2000. to.2008,.led.the.CWCB.through.the.drought.period,. including. the. massive. undertak-ing.to.assess.statewide.water.supply.into.the. future.. The. Statewide. Water. Supply.Initiative. commenced. in. 2003. on. his.watch.. “You. had. water. users. that. were.planning. projects. and. you. had. growth.control.and.environmental.advocates.that.didn’t.want.to.see.any.water.projects.built..Both.had. their.own.story.as. to.needs.or.lack.of.needs,.and.I.felt.the.state.needed.to.provide.an.unbiased.look.at.this.”.

Kuharich’s. leadership. philosophy.was. to. hire. good. people. and. let. them.do. their. job.. He. encouraged. the. Board.to. take. its. statutory. role. of. establishing.state.policy.seriously.without.letting.that.direction. be. determined. by. parochial.interests.. He. says. he. was. criticized. for.

his.own.attempt.to.operate.with.what.he.felt.was.a.balance.of.interest..

Like.McDonald.before.him,.Kuharich.called.on.Felix.Sparks. for.counsel..“The.first.time.I.called.Felix,.I.said,.‘This.is.Rod.Kuharich..Help.’”

Sparks, who died two years ago, is no longer available to offer advice,. wheth-er. Jennifer. Gimbel,. hired. as. director. in.2008,. would. choose. to. seek. it. or. not..Gimbel. stepped. to. the. plate. at. a. time.when. the. state. has. recognized. a. great.and.growing.demand.for.water.in.its.not-too-distant. future.. Now,. as. she. presides.over. the. agency. that. is. most. involved.in. the. Interbasin. Compact. Process,. an.attempt. to. bring. the. state’s. eight. major.river. basins. together. for. statewide. solu-tions,.she.is.wedged.between.a.rock.and.a.hard.place..But.Denver.Water’s.Duncan.believes. Gimbel. can. be. a. peacemaker..“She.will.listen,”.says.Duncan.

And. Anderson,. from. his. farm. in.Loveland,. Colo.,. thinks. Gimbel. was. “a.darn. good. pick. to. be. director.”. How.come?.“She.has.the.background.and.the.interest. and. the. historic. knowledge. of.everything.that’s.gone.on..I’m.confident.she’ll.do.the.right.thing.”.

The.true.meaning.of.the.“right.thing”.will. mean. different. things. to. different.people,.but.one.thing.it.seems.her.prede-cessors’.legacy.would.tell.is.that.she.has.to. look. to. the.best. interests.of. the.state.as. a. whole.. Pursuing. purely. localized.interests,. says. Anderson,. could. have.always.torn.everything.apart..q

peter Evans1998-2000

rod kuharich2000-2007

Jennifer gimbel2008-Current


Jennifer. Gimbel,. director. of. the. Colorado. Water. Conservation.Board,. speaks. of. the. “many. hallways”. in. her. part. of. Colorado’s.Department. of. Natural. Resources—all. intersecting. at. her. office..Each. hallway. contains. from. two. to. seven. people. working. on.distinct,. important. programs. involving. Colorado’s. most. precious.resource,.and.those.programs.don’t.all.automatically.move.harmo-niously.in.the.same.direction..

In. trying. to. get. a. real. overview. of. her. job,. it. helps. to. think. of.Justice.Greg.Hobbs’.depiction.of.“the.two.chambers.of.the.western.heart:.beneficial.use.and.conservation.”.The.CWCB.is.as.close.as.one.could. come. to.Colorado’s. locus. for. that.western.heart.. The. seven.program.areas.of.the.CWCB.run.the.full.gamut.of.water.challenges.today,.from.the.Water.Supply.Planning.and.Finance.Section.that.sup-ports.water.development.projects.to.the.Stream.and.Lake.Protection.offices. where. water. is. protected. from. development.. Like. William.Faulkner’s.evocation.of.the.human.heart,.this.western.heart.is.often.in.conflict.with.itself,.and.the.conflicts.eventually.come.home.to.those.several.hallways.intersecting.at.Gimbel’s.office.

Gimbel. is. no. stranger. to. such. conflicts.. She. has. two. decades.of. experience. working. in. water. and. resource. law,. mostly. with. the.attorneys.general.of.both.Wyoming.and.Colorado,.but.her.real.bap-tism.through.fire.might.have.been.with.the.U.S..Department.of.the.Interior,.another.organization.at.the.crux.of.that.western.heart..She.was.employed.there.by.the.U.S..Bureau.of.Reclamation,.but. in. the.mid-2000s.Secretary.of.the.Interior.Gale.Norton.borrowed.Gimbel.to.negotiate.Indian.water.right.settlements.in.the.West..Norton.also.sent.her.into.the.maelstrom.of.the.Middle.Rio.Grande.to.work.out.a.swirl.of. conflicts. involving. the. silvery. minnow,. several. federal. agencies,.Indian. tribes,. farmers,.environmentalists.and.growing.cities..Those.experiences.made.Gimbel.as.ready.as.one.can.be.for.Colorado,.its.Water.Conservation.Board.and.the.21st.century.

The.cusp.of. the.21st.century.may.be.a.fitting.time.for.a.water.attorney. to. be. moving. into. the. leadership. of. the. organization.that. has. been. most. associated,. at. least. in. the. public. mind,. with.“concrete”. water. development. projects. through. its. revolving.Construction.Fund.and.traditional.support.for.USBR.projects..There.is.general.agreement. that. the.western.water. resource.has.mostly.been.developed,.for.both.non-consumptive.environmental.and.rec-reational.needs.as.well.as.the.traditional.consumptive.agricultural,.domestic.and.industrial.uses..More.water.projects.will.be.built,.but.they.will. not. all. be.developing. “new”.water.. Instead,. they.will. be.redirecting,.reusing.and.reallocating.already.developed.water,.and.the.legal.and.political.challenges.will.equal.or.surpass.the.engineer-ing.challenges.

“I.understand.the.law,”.Gimbel.said.in.an.interview,.then.went.on.to.explain.that.what.she.means.is.that.she.understands.where.there.is.“black.and.white.law”.and.where.there.are.“gray.zones”.requiring.testing,.clarification.and.expansion.of.existing. law..She.notes.that.“there.is.a.lot.of.gray.out.there.”

CWCB director Jennifer Gimbel on Colorado’s water future

NothiNg iN the future will have a greater impact

oN our ability to sustaiN our way of

life aNd preserve our eNviroNmeNt for

future geNeratioNs thaN water.

—cwcb web site

By.George.SibleyPhoto.by.Kevin.Moloney

H e a d wat e r s | Fa l l 2 0 0 9 1 5


As.one.talks.to.Gimbel—and.watches.her. at. work. in. the. state—it. becomes.clear.that.one.of.her.strategies.for.mov-ing.Colorado. into. the.21st. century. is. to.build.more.open,. informed.and. respon-sive.communications.among.a.multitude.of.factions.that.grew.up.contentious.and.competitive. in. the. 20th. century.. This.starts.within.the.CWCB.itself,.where.she.is.proud.of.the.degree.to.which.the.staff.as. well. as. the. Board. members. work.with. an. awareness—nurtured. in. weekly.senior.staff.meetings—of.what.everyone.else.is.doing.

Making.sure.that.the.discourse.in.the.state. is. “informed”. is. important,. which.requires. good. information.. She. accord-ingly. believes. that. continuing. to. com-pile. and. use. the. information. collected.through. the. Statewide. Water. Supply.Initiative.is.essential.to.the.future..“SWSI.is. the. study. everyone. hated,. but. now.refers.to,”.she.says.

She.is.even.more.enthusiastic.about.informational.models.for.each.basin.that.make. up. Colorado’s. Decision. Support.Systems,. or. DSS,. which. the. CWCB’s.Water. Information. Group. has. been. col-laborating. on. for. close. to. two. decades.with. the. Division. of. Water. Resources..The. DSS. enables. users. to. model. water.development. scenarios. on. GIS. maps.with. overlays. for. everything. from.basic. hydrology. to. water. rights,. diver-sion. records. and. calls.. “SWSI. gives. us.snapshots,”.Gimbel.says..“The.Decision.Support. Systems. are. fully. developed.models.for.the.basins.”.

Information. alone,. however,. will. not.generate. solutions. to. water. problems..It. just. illuminates. the. gray. zones.. Thus.Gimbel.is.working.hard.to.get.the.state’s.water.factions.talking.to.each.other..

At. the. 2009. Colorado. Water.Congress. summer. conference,. recent.DNR.director.Harris.Sherman.observed.that. the. water. debate. now. occurs. in. a.“bigger. tent”. with. more. groups. than.when.he.first.ran.the.department.in.the.1970s.. In. 2005,. the. Colorado. General.Assembly.attempted.to.erect.that.larger.tent.with.HB05-1177,.creating.nine.basin.roundtables.and.an.Interbasin.Compact.Committee,. all. of. which. include. local.governments,. environmentalists,. recre-ationalists.and.other.entities.besides.the.traditional.“water.buffaloes.”.The.round-tables. and. IBCC. have. to. interact. with.the.CWCB,.but.figuring.out.what.exactly.the. interplay. between. the. two. bodies.

should.be.is.part.of.Gimbel’s.challenge.now.and.into.the.near.future.

There. is. general. agreement. around.the. state. that. the. basin. roundtables.have. been. a. helpful. forum. for. devel-oping. intrabasin. awareness. and. com-munication.. But. the. Interbasin. Compact.Committee. concept. of. solution-building.across. basins. has. proven. more. chal-lenging,. and. Gimbel. finds. herself. in. a.difficult. place. with. it.. She. believes. the.IBCC.is.where.the.big.conversation.about.the. state’s. water. future. should. happen,.but.she.also.has.a.charge.to.make.sure.that.the.state’s.water.needs.are.met.in.a.timely.way.and.is.getting.a.little.nervous.about.the.extent.to.which.that.conversa-tion.isn’t.happening..

“I.see.the.IBCC.as.a.think.tank.for.the.state’s. water. future,”. Gimbel. says.. She.also. sees. it. as. a. forum. where. people.should. bring. ideas. to. put. on. the. table.for.discussion,.with.the.most.accepted—or. least. challenged—ideas. and. visions.channeled.to.the.CWCB.for.further.devel-opment..But.Gimbel.is.concerned.about.what. she. perceives. as. reluctance. by.IBCC.participants.to.really.put.things.on.the.table—probably.the.consequence.of.many. decades. of. competition. and. con-tention. over. water.. “I. hear. echoes. from.the.past,”.she.says.

The. source. of. much. pressure. today.on. the. emerging. relationship. between.the. IBCC.and. the.CWCB. is. the. result.of.a. dangerous. set. of. gray. zones. aswirl.around. the.Colorado.River..A. large.por-tion.of.the.water.for.Colorado’s.growing.Front. Range. metropolis. comes. through.the. Continental. Divide. from. the. Upper.Colorado. River.. It. is. presumed. even.by. most. West. Slopers—with. reluctant.resignation—that. more. will. come. from.there. in. the. future.. That’s. if. there. is. in.fact.more.unappropriated.water.to.move.

One.of.the.big.questions.is.how.much.water.Colorado.has.left.to.develop.from.its. Colorado. River. Compact. entitlement.of.51.75.percent.of—well,.of.what?. Is. it.the.7.5.million.acre.feet.almost.explicit.in.the.1922.compact,.or. the.6.million.acre.feet.revealed.by.the.USBR’s.2007.hydro-logic. determination,. or. an. even. smaller.figure. emerging. from. sophisticated. sci-entific. analysis. of. river. hydrology. over.the.past.500.years?

The. CWCB. is. spearheading. a.Colorado.River.Water.Availability.Study.to. answer. that. question,. partly. at. the.request. of. West. Slope. roundtables..

“I see the IBCC as a think tank for the

state’s water future.”—Jennifer Gimbel

H e a d wat e r s | Fa l l 2 0 0 9 1 7

The. study. is. so. fraught. with. complex-ity. that. it. took. a. year. just. to. scope. it..Completion. of. the. study’s. first. phase,.which. is. expected. late. this. year,. will.likely. reveal. the. most. thorough. com-pilation. of. historical. and. hydrologic.data. that.has.ever.been.assembled.on.a. river.. With. input. from. the. IBCC,. the.CWCB.is.now.scoping.the.study’s.sec-ond. phase,. which. will. examine. devel-opmental.scenarios.for.the.river,.incor-porating. risk. analyses. associated. with.various.climate-change.models..

The. CWCB. is. also. in. the. process. of.launching.a.second.Colorado.River.study.to.assess.the.probable. impacts.and.alter-natives.available.in.the.event.of.a.Colorado.River.Compact.curtailment..This.is.the.big-gest.gray.fog.of.all.on.the.Colorado.River:.Given.predictions.of.a.return.to.long-term.hydrologic. conditions. with. annual. flows.up. to. 1. million. acre. feet. lower. than.the. 20th. century. average,. compounded.by. climate. change. predictions. for. the.Southwest. resulting. in.10. to.30.percent.less.water. in.the.Colorado.River.system.by.2050,.what.happens.if.the.amount.of.water. flowing. to. the. lower. basin. states.(California,. Arizona. and. Nevada). and.Mexico.falls.below.the.8.23.million.acre-foot. average. annual. release. the. USBR.makes.from.Lake.Powell.to.comply.with.the. Colorado. River. Compact. and. the.Mexican.treaty?.The.fact.that.there.is.no.clear.answer.to.that.question.in.the.com-pact. means. that. worst-case. scenarios.and. fear-talk. proliferate.. The. compact.compliance.study.by. the.CWCB’s.Water.Supply.Protection.Section.may.help.turn.that.into.a.more.informed.discussion.

Not.everyone.is.convinced.that.more.informed.and.open.discussion.among.the.many. water-related. groups. in. Colorado.will. happen. fast. enough. to. conclude.with.definitive.projects.that.will.meet.the.needs.of.a.population.predicted.to.dou-ble.by.2050..A.state.legislator.fired.a.shot.at. the. CWCB. during. August’s. Colorado.Water. Congress. conference,. charging.that.the.agency.is.doing.more.study.proj-ects.than.construction.projects..

On.the.spot,.Gimbel.responded.with.the. fact. that. the. CWCB. loaned. out. $45.million. for. on-the-ground. projects. last.year.. In. retrospect,.she.says.she.should.have.pointed.out.that.the.agency.has.lent.$300. million. over. the. past. three. years..Still,. the. pressure. is. on. from. the. Front.Range’s.metropolitan.utilities,.which.are.pushing. the. CWCB. to. begin. studying.

potential. diversions. from. the. Colorado.River. Basin. to. the. Front. Range. despite.the. fact. that. the. Colorado. River. Water.Availability. Study. is. not. yet. completed..The. utilities. argued. in. a. July. letter. to.the. CWCB. that. the. IBCC. process. is. too.“laborious. and. largely. unproductive,”.and. they. need. to. begin. planning. now.for.projects.that.would.require.at.least.a.decade.to.become.operational.

But.even.if.the.CWCB.Board.were.to.succumb. to. such. pressure. and. charge.ahead,. 20th-century. style,. on. a. water.project. or. two,. the. organization. has.been.seriously.hamstrung.by.Colorado’s.deteriorated. financial. situation.. The.CWCB’s. numerous. programs. operate.almost.entirely.on.repayment.and.inter-est. on. loans. made. from. two. revolving.funds—the.Construction.Fund,.support-ed.by.federal.mineral.lease.money,.and.the.Severance.Tax.Trust.Fund.Perpetual.Base.Account,.derived.mostly. from.the.state’s.severance.tax.on.resources.“sev-ered”. from. the. state.. Revenues. from.that. tax. have. crashed. along. with. all.other.revenues,.and.last.year,.the.gover-nor.and.the.legislature.took.$107.million.from. the. agency’s. funds. to. help. meet.the. budget. deficit.. With. little. money.to. lend,. repayments. and. interest. will.decline,. and. Gimbel. will. have. to. begin.thinking. about. which. hallways. to. start.closing.down.

In. short,. absolutely. nothing. about.the. future.of. the.CWCB.seems.predict-able. and. certain.. That. said,. Gimbel. is.not.the.kind.of.person.to.be.deterred.by.complexity.or.difficulties..She.finds.the.financial.situation.frustrating:.“I.did.not.realize. I. was. going. to. spend. so. much.time. thinking. about. money.”. But. she.also.has. long.known. that,.where.water.in.the.West.is.concerned,.“you’re.always.dealing. with. fluctuations,”. an. observa-tion.as.true.for.the.cultural.environment.with. its. economic. droughts. as. it. is. for.the.natural.environment.

Her. biggest. hope. for. the. future.remains. that,. through. well-developed.partnerships. in. the.“bigger. tent,”.a.pro-active. and. creative. Board,. and. continu-ity. of. a. well-coordinated. set. of. CWCB.programs,.Coloradans.will.learn.to.really.talk.and.work.together.constructively.on.the. biggest. nexus. of. water. challenges.westerners.have.ever.faced.

“We. need. to. keep. pushing. the. con-versation. forward,”. she. says.. Keep. that.western.heart.beating..q

The CWCB’s numerous programs operate almost entirely on repayment and interest on loans made from two revolving funds—the Construction Fund…and the Severance Tax Trust Fund Perpetual Base Account.

Severance tax revenues, paid to Colorado when non-renewable resources such as oil or gas are “severed” from the land are used by the CWCB to make loans for water projects.

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(2)


Healthy Rivers Fund streams grants to citizen-driven projects

in the summer of 2002,.Pinewood.Springs.was.bitterly,.desperately.dry.

The. Little. Thompson. River,. which. wanders. through.the. scenic. foothills. below. Rocky. Mountain. National. Park,.had.evaporated..“The.Little.Thompson.River.has.gone.dry.every. year. for. the. past. ten. years.. But. in. 2002. it. was. the.worst. it. ever.was,”. says.Pinewood.Springs.Water.District.superintendent.Carl.Pender..

The.Pinewood.Springs.Water.District.had.always.divert-ed.water.directly. from. the.Little.Thompson.and. relied.on.wells. to. supplement. its. river. diversions.. But. during. that.summer.both.the.river.and.the.wells.went.dry..The.commu-nity,.which.had.no.storage.reservoirs,.was.forced.to.begin.buying. water. from. neighboring. towns. and. trucking. it. up.the.mountain..“We.hauled.water.from.Longmont.every.day,.30,000.gallons.a.day,”.Pender.says..For.months,. the.cara-van.would.begin.at.5.a.m..and.end.at.9.p.m.,.when.Pender.would.drain.the.last.truck.and.prepare.for.another.day..

While.the.tankers.rolled.down.Highway.36,.the.district.was.scrambling.to.find.help..It.would.need.millions.of.dol-lars.to.build.a.storage.reservoir.and.upgrade.an.aging.water.system. designed. to. support. a. small. group. of. summer.cabins,.not. the.year-round. residential. area. that.had.since.developed.. “I. was. just. starting. here. at. the. time,”. Pender.says..“I.told.the.homeowners,.‘You’ve.got.to.have.a.year’s.worth.of.storage,.somewhere.’.They.needed.help.bad.”.

After.months.of.making.phone.calls.to.state.and.county.agencies,. the. homeowners. found. a. loan. program. at. the.Colorado. Water. Conservation. Board.. The. CWCB. would.prove.to.be.the.only.entity.willing.to.lend.money.to.help.the.small. district. solve. its. water. woes.. The. agency. provided.Pinewood.Springs.with.a.low-interest,.$2.8.million.loan.

The. loan. was. one. of. dozens. the. CWCB’s. finance. arm.has.made.over.the.years..Started.in.1971.with.money.from.Colorado’s.General.Assembly,.the.loan.program.has.helped.farmers. and. cities. build. small. reservoirs,. install. pipelines.and. repair. dams.. “The. CWCB. provides. an. opportunity.that. doesn’t. exist. in. other. parts. of. the. economy,”. says.Kirk. Russell,. marketing. manager. for. the. loan. program..“It’s.pretty.standard.knowledge. that.we’re. the.only.game.in. town.when. it.comes.to.ditch.and.reservoir.companies..Small. banks. typically. don’t. want. to. have. anything. to. do.with.water.projects.because.they.don’t.understand.them.”

The. CWCB. sets. its. interest. rates. annually,. charging.agricultural. borrowers. slightly. less. than. their. municipal.customers..As.the.loans.are.paid.back.and.interest.accrues,.the.money.is.lent.out.again..To.date,.the.loan.program.has.had.a. low. failure. rate—one. in. roughly.370. loans—in.part.because. of. the. high. level. of. scrutiny. CWCB. staffers. give.each.deal,.Russell.says..“We’re.water.people..We.know.it..We.understand.it,”.he.explains..“We.put.borrowers.through.a.very.strict,.very.detailed.review.because.we.want.to.pro-

tect.taxpayers.from.a.defaulting.borrower.”.In. 1996,. the. CWCB’s. loan. program. expanded. signifi-

cantly.when.the.legislature.authorized.the.agency.to.begin.receiving. 25. to. 30. percent. of. the. state’s. severance. taxes.collected.on. oil. and. gas. revenues.. As. the. oil. and. natural.gas. boom. of. 2006,. 2007. and. 2008. took. off,. those. taxes.helped. expand. the. agency’s. program. even. further. and. it.was.able.to.make.much.bigger.loans.

In.2001,.the.agency.loaned.the.largest.sum.it.had.ever.approved. at. that. time—$27. million—to. Ute. Water. on. the.Western. Slope..The. loan.helped. the.domestic.water.pro-vider. install. a. 12-mile. water. supply. pipeline. in. the. Grand.Valley. to. meet. future. water. demands.. “At. the. time. the.CWCB.had.a.lot.of.money,”.says.Larry.Clever,.Ute.Water’s.general. manager.. “They. were. encouraging. us. to. take. as.much.from.them.as.we.needed.”.

Following. the.2002.drought,. the. loan.program.helped.keep.hundreds.of.South.Platte.Basin. farmers. from. losing.their. land. after. a. series. of. legal. battles. forced. them. to.dramatically.reduce.or.stop.pumping.irrigation.wells..New.rules. required. the. farmers. to.put.more.water.back. in. the.South.Platte.River. to.augment—or.compensate—for. their.pumping..But.water.was.scarce.and.prices.were.skyrocket-ing..“All.hell.was.breaking. loose,”.says.Tom.Cech,.execu-tive. director. of. the. Central. Colorado. Water. Conservancy.District..“Things.looked.dismal.for.the.well.owners.”

Using. $37. million. in. CWCB. loans,. farmers. were. able.to.purchase.water.rights.and.to.buy.and.line.gravel.pits.in.which.to.store.the.new.water,.releasing.it.to.help.replenish.the.river’s.surface.supplies.as.they.pumped.water.from.the.aquifer.that.lay.below.the.South.Platte.

In.2004,.the.CWCB.served.as.the.lead.financier.on.the.expansion.of.Elkhead.Reservoir.outside.Craig,.lending.$11.million. to. the.Colorado.River.Water.Conservation.District,.which.had.partnered.with.several.other.entities,. including.the. town. of. Craig. and. the. U.S.. Fish. and. Wildlife. Service..The.CWCB.loan.was.the.centerpiece.of.a.$30.million.project.that.provided. important.water.storage.for. the.West.Slope.as.well.as.water.to.augment.flows.for.endangered.fish.on.the.Yampa.River..

Then,.in.2007,.the.agency.would.make.the.largest.loan.in.its.history:.$75.million.to.the.city.of.Aurora.to.help.build.a. cutting-edge. reuse. project. that. would. capture. treated.wastewater.from.the.South.Platte.River,.purify.it,.and.store.it.for.use.by.city.residents.

The. project. represented. a. major. turning. point. for. the.loan.program..For.decades.it.had.served.small.irrigation.dis-tricts.and.farmers.across.the.state..Bringing.a.major.city.into.the.loan.portfolio.caused.concern.in.the.agricultural.world..In.rural.farming.communities,.there.was.no.access.to.big.city.investment.bankers.whom.Aurora.could.have.used..But.the.CWCB,.as.it.had.with.all.of.its.borrowers,.was.able.to.offer.a.

DollARS FoR DITChES…AnD DIvERSIonS AnD DAmS

tHE CWCB’S loAn progrAM

H e a d wat e r s | Fa l l 2 0 0 9 1 9

By.Jerd.SmithPhoto.by.Glenn.Asakawa

“I told the homeowners, ‘You’ve

got to have a year’s worth of

storage, somewhere.’ They

needed help bad.”

—Carl Pender


lower.interest.rate.than.Wall.Street.And.the.program.fit.within.the.CWCB’s.

mission,. part. of. which. is. to. help. finance.water. supply. projects. for. the. citizens. of.Colorado.. The. loan. generates. enough.cash. in. interest. payments—3.75. per-cent. on. $75. million—to. support. nearly.the. entire. CWCB. budget,. according. to.Mike.Serlet,.former.section.chief.of.Water.Supply.Planning.and.Finance.at.the.CWCB.who.retired.in.August.

“We. took. a. lot. of. heat. for. it,”. Serlet.says,. “but. it. made. sense.. Aurora. was. a.good.borrower.and. it.was.a.great. invest-ment.for.the.CWCB..A.lot.of.people.said.we.shouldn’t. lend. money. to. Aurora. because.the. city. didn’t. fit. within. the. intent. of. the.program..But.we.said.there.is.no.restriction.against.it..And.as.money.comes.back.from.Aurora,. it. will. generate. more. money. for.loans.to.others.”

The. CWCB,. a. relatively. small. agency.with. an. operating. budget. of. just. $7. mil-lion,.has.financed.its.own.operations.since.2002,. thanks. to. its. interest. income.. It.receives.no.money.from.the.state’s.gener-al.fund,.the.giant.purse.of.public.tax.dollars.that. most. state. agencies. use. to. operate,.according.to.the.CWCB’s.Russell.

As.its.loan.pool.has.grown,.the.agency.has. used. its. earnings. to. generate. more.loans.and.more.interest..The.resulting.cash.funds.have.drawn.attention.from.lawmak-ers.in.several.different.budget.crises..The.last.two.years.have.been.no.different.

In.2008.and.2009,.as.the.crisis.unfold-ed,. lawmakers. tapped. the. CWCB’s. cash.pool.by.$107.million,. taking.money. from.two. different. cash. accounts. the. agen-cy. uses. to. make. loans:. the. Construction.Fund. and. the. Severance. Tax. Trust. Fund.

Perpetual.Base.Account..The.money.was.desperately. needed. to. help. balance. the.state. budget,. but. the. reduction. means.the.agency’s. loan.capacity.will.be.cut.by.two-thirds.this.year,.according.to.Jennifer.Gimbel,.the.CWCB’s.director.

As.a. result,. the.agency.was. forced. to.do.something.it.had.never.done.before—break. a. promise. to. make. a. loan.. “When.the. budget. crisis. hit,. legislators. reached.into. our. severance. tax. pot. and. took. $97.million,”.says.Russell..Another.$10.million.was. taken. from. the. Construction. Fund..“Unfortunately.that.money.was.waiting.for.the.Arkansas.Valley.Conduit.Project.”

Bent. County. Commissioner. Bill. Long,.a.key.proponent.of.the.project,.says.other.funds. authorized. by. the. federal. govern-ment.have.been.found.to.fill. the.gap,.but.he’s.concerned.his.group.will.need.more.help. from. the. CWCB. in. the. future.. “We.were. disappointed,. although. we. under-stand. the. problem,”. Long. says.. “Now.we’re.looking.very.hard.at.alternatives.”

Russell. says. the. CWCB’s. hope. is. that.the.loan.pool.will.gradually.return.to.health.and. be. available. for. the. Arkansas. Valley.should. it. be. needed.. But. most. believe. it.will. take. at. least. five. years. for. the. loan.fund. to. recover. unless. lawmakers. create.another.source.of.revenue..

Rep..Kathleen.Curry,.a.Democrat.from.Gunnison.County,.says.the.state.must.find.a. permanent. source. of. funding. for. water.projects. because. they. require. years. of.advance. planning. and. certainty. when. it.comes.to.financing..“I’m.worried.that.these.year-to-year. transfers. [from. the. CWCB.back. to. the. state’s. general. fund]. aren’t.over,”. she. says.. “I. think. the. legislature.will.be. in.a.bind.for.a.while,.and.unfortu-

nately,.water.planning.is.not.a.year-to-year.exercise.. The. water. community. needs.stability.”.

Like.others,.Central.Colorado’s.Cech.is.concerned. that. the. CWCB. loan. program.will.go.dormant.for.the.next.several.years.as. it.recovers.from.the.budget.crisis..“It’s.critical. for. irrigated. agriculture. that. the.state. continue. the. loan. program.. It’s. an.affordable.source.of.funds.”.

The. agency. estimates. it. will. loan. just.$10. million. to. $20. million. this. year,. far.less. than.usual.. “That’s.almost.dormant,”.Gimbel. says.. “Last. year. we. lent. $45. mil-lion..The.year.before. that. it.was.$87.mil-lion..Before.that.it.was.$158.million..We’re.going.from.giving.out.a.significant.amount.of. money. for. infrastructure. to. giving. out.really.small.amounts.of.money.”.

How.the.Board.will.proceed.with.such.small.amounts.of.money.to.loan.isn’t.clear..Travis.Smith,.the.Board’s.Rio.Grande.Basin.representative,.admits.they.are.in.new.ter-ritory..But.he.also.says.the.Board.has.finan-cial.policies.that.provide.some.guidelines,.such. as. prioritizing. projects. that. meet. a.statewide. interest,. help. achieve. compact.compliance. or. have. greater. delivery. effi-ciencies..

If. nothing. is. done. to. recapitalize. the.loan.funds,.water.project.planning.is.likely.to. languish,. says. Curry.. With. state. water.planners. poised. to. address. the. poten-tial.impacts.of.climate.change,.population.growth.and.aging.infrastructure,.the.reces-sion’s. timing. could. hardly. be. worse.. But.few.see.any.near-term.solutions..

“I.think.it.will.take.five.to.six.years.for.us.to.get.back.up.to.speed,”.says.Gimbel,.“assuming.the.economy.recovers.”.

The.water.community.can.only.hope..q

“The CWCB provides an opportunity that

doesn’t exist in other parts of the economy.”

—Kirk Russell

Kevin

Mol

oney

H e a d wat e r s | Fa l l 2 0 0 9 2 1

Usually,. the. goals. of. environmental.groups. and. Jeep. clubs. seem. at. odds..But. in. Jamestown,. Colo.,. the. James.Creek. Watershed. Initiative. has. worked.hand. in.hand.with.4x4.clubs. to. restore.natural.areas.around.nearby.James.and.Left.Hand.creeks.

At.first.glance,.their.visions.for.the.land.completely. differ.. The. four-wheelers. are.there.to.play,.while.the.watershed.initiative.seeks. to. protect. the. town’s. water. supply.from. the. consequences. of. that. play—namely,.excess.sediment.in.the.creeks..

Efforts.to.mitigate.water.quality.prob-lems. stemming. from. the. eroding. Jeep.trails.could.easily.have.driven.the.groups.apart..But.in.order.to.secure.a.grant.from.Colorado’s. Healthy. Rivers. Fund,. every-one. with. a. stake. in. the. project. had. to.be.on.board..Members.of.the.watershed.initiative.realized.they.had.to.address.the.four-wheelers’. concerns—still. having. a.playground—to.achieve.their.own.goals..And. a. joint. effort. to. re-route. the. four-wheel. trails. away. from. the. waterways.was.born..

SEED monEY To GRoW on The. Healthy. Rivers. Fund. is. supported.entirely. by. a. check-off. option. on. the.Colorado. income. tax. return.. Since. 2003,.its.first.year.on.the.return,.the.fund.has.gar-nered.nearly.$632,000..Its.grants.generally.range. from. $5,000. to. $25,000,. although.it. has. allocated. as. much. as. $50,000. to. a.single.project.

It. doesn’t. sound. like. much.. But. even.the.smallest.grant.serves.as.seed.money.for. eliciting. larger. donations.. The. grants.cannot. support. more. than. 50. percent. of.a. project’s. total. cost,. so. local. organizers.must.kick.in.the.rest.themselves.or.appeal.to. other. donors,. like. the. Environmental.Protection.Agency.

“On.average,.for.each.dollar.the.Healthy.Rivers.Fund.spends,.the.local.community.comes.up.with.another.eight,”.says.Chris.Sturm,.stream.restoration.coordinator.with.the. Colorado. Water. Conservation. Board,.

the.state.agency.that.administers.the.fund..“And.that.has.been.the.real.success.of.the.fund,”.he.says..“It’s.leveraging.larger.pots.of.money.from.usually.federal.sources.that.require.a.local.match.”

Also,. by. requiring. that. stakeholders.work. out. their. differences. before. doling.out. grants,. the. Healthy. Rivers. Fund. not.only.finances.projects,.it.helps.them.reach.fruition.faster.and.more.economically.than.if.a.project. required.consultants.and. law-yers.to.make.each.side’s.case..

In. one. instance,. a. U.S.. Army. Corps.of. Engineers’. plan. to. build. a. diversion.project.on.the.North.Fork.of.the.Gunnison.was. estimated. to. cost. $135,000.. Instead,.stakeholders. completed. the. project. on.their.own. for.a.mere.$40,000,.with.some.money.from.the.Healthy.Rivers.Fund..The.project. solved. a. problem. created. each.year. when. a. ditch. company. bulldozed. a.makeshift.dam,.diverting.the.entire.river.to.fill.its.ditches..The.action.would.result.in.a.dry.stretch.of.riverbed.impassable.to.fish..Instead. of. using. the. Corps’. larger-scale.project,.a.local.watershed.group.created.a.by-pass.and.installed.a.head.gate.to.help.the.ditch.company.divert.only.the.water.it.needed.while.giving.the.fish.safe.passage.down.the.river..

“There’s. not. enough. said. about. how.effective. a. watershed. group. can. be,”.says.Jeff.Crane,.executive.director.of. the.nonprofit. Colorado. Watershed. Assembly,.a. coalition. of. about. 70. local. watershed.groups.. “A. $20,000. grant. can. go. a. lot.further. with. a. watershed. group. than. a.government.entity.”.

“It. is.great. to.have.a.citizen.base. that.does. not. have. to. conform. to. all. the. red.tape..They.can.really.get.something.done,”.adds.Crane.

ThE FunD’S PAST AnD ITS FuTuREIt.was.the.Colorado.Watershed.Assembly.that. fought. to. put. the. Healthy. Rivers.Fund.on.the.state.tax.return..The.fund’s.objective. is. to. protect. water. quality. by.preserving. whole. watersheds.. Projects.

have. included.organizing.volunteer.pro-grams.to.monitor.water.quality;.creating.public.access.to.popular.rivers;. improv-ing. and. increasing. fish. habitat. in. areas.affected.by.the.Hayman.fire;.and.exam-ining.water.policy.

The.Healthy.Rivers.Fund.was.originally.called.the.Colorado.Watershed.Protection.Fund,. but. when. it. nearly. missed. raising.the. $75,000. annual. minimum. to. remain.on.the.tax.return,.administrators.changed.the.name..Everyone.knows.what.rivers.are.and.why.we.value.them..But.the.concept.of.a.watershed.is.less.tangible.to.many.

Despite.the.new.name,.any.project.that.benefits.the.overall.health.of.a.watershed.is.eligible.for.funds,.since.aquatic.and.ter-restrial.life.are.inextricably.linked..“A.lot.of.what’s.going.on.in.the.water,.good.or.bad,.is. a. direct. result. of. how. the. land’s. being.used,”. says. Sturm.. “A. small. project. in. a.degraded. area. can. do. wonders. for. con-necting.a.lot.of.habitat.”

But.the.fund.itself.could.use.more.dol-lars..In.addition.to.nearly.losing.its.spot.on.the. tax. return,. some.qualified.applicants.leave.empty-handed..Sturm.has.received.three.times.as.many.requests.as.he.could.support. through. the. fund,. but. he’d. like.to. see. every. qualified. project. receive. a.grant.

“The.government.can.easily.put.money.into.this.fund.if.they.want.to,”.Crane.says..“There’s.a.huge.need.out.there.”

The.CWCB.cooperates.with.Colorado’s.Water. Quality. Control. Commission. to.administer. the. fund. and. determine. who.gets.the.grants..The.two.work.closely.with.the.Colorado.Watershed.Assembly,.which.is.where.potential.applicants.should.go.to.get.the.ball.rolling..

Individuals. who. wish. to. donate. can.check. the. Healthy. Rivers. Fund. box. on.their.state. tax. return. to.give.a.$1.dona-tion. or. write. in. a. larger. amount.. Every.extra. dollar. matters. to. keep. the. fund.alive,.a.necessary.prospect,.says.Sturm,.if. people. want. the. Colorado. they’ve.come.to.love.to.be.protected..q

healthy rivers fuNd

streams graNts to citizeN-driveN projectsBy Abigail Eagye


By.Joshua.Zaffos.Photos.by.Kevin.Moloney

“The evolution was not just in the program or the legislative changes, but also in each community learning about the program and seeing how it did not

have detrimental effects on water users.”—Dan merriman, former CWCB Stream and

lake Protection Section chief

H e a d wat e r s | Fa l l 2 0 0 9 2 3

The.region.of.the.Dolores.River—El.Rio.de.los.Dolores,.or.the.River.of.Sorrows—isn’t.exactly.an.inviting.landscape..The.dramatic.sandstone.cliffs.rising.above.the.river.provide.a.breathtaking.backdrop,.but.the.area.is.foreboding..Water.is.scarce;.precipitation.averages.just.12.inches.a.year..

Only. five. years. after. the. federal. government. officially.opened.the.Dolores.Valley.to.homesteading.in.1873,.ranch-ers. began. trying. to. divert. water.. Plans. for. a. large. reser-voir. date. back. to. 1900,. but. it. wasn’t. until. the. 1960s. that.Congress.authorized.the.Dolores.Project.and.the.construc-tion.of.McPhee.Reservoir.

But. the. completion. of. McPhee. in. 1985. hardly. ended.conflicts.over.the.flows.of.the.Dolores.River..Before.the.dam.was.finished,.environmental.concerns.and.recreational.uses.were.exerting.their.own.pressures.on.the.river..A.1977.study.recommended.105.miles.of.the.Dolores.for.Wild.and.Scenic.River. designation,. a. federal. stream. protection. status. that.could.compete.with.existing.water.rights..A.proposed.wilder-ness.area.and.the.plight.of.struggling.native.warm.water.fish.also.threatened.to.tie.up.water.for.preservation.through.feder-al.action..And.then.a.dam’s.tail-water.trout.fishery.and.popular.boating.runs.added.even.more.demands.for.adequate.flows.at.certain.times.of.the.year..

Achieving. the. balance. of. human. and. environmental.needs.on.the.Dolores.and.other.Colorado.rivers.hasn’t.been.simple..Some.of.the.responsibility.falls.to.the.Colorado.Water.Conservation.Board.and. its. Instream.Flow.Program..Crafted.to.correlate.“the.activities.of.mankind.with.reasonable.pres-ervation.of.the.natural.environment,”.the.state.program.has.taken.shape.over.decades. to.enable. flexible.applications.of.instream.flow.water.rights.with.existing.water.use.for.agricul-ture,.industry.and.communities..

On.the.Dolores,.the.CWCB.holds.a.decree.for.up.to.78.cubic.feet.per.second—water.to.be.left. in.the.stream—on.a.stretch.of.river.downstream.of.McPhee.Reservoir..While.outside.intervention.on.water.issues.is.still.regarded.as.sus-pect,.disparate.water. interests.have. learned.to. leave.their.guns. at. home.. One. example. is. the. five-year-old. Dolores.

River. Dialogue,. a. collaborative. effort. that. brings. together.irrigators,.federal.land.managers,.CWCB.staff,.state.wildlife.officials. and. environmentalists. to. work. out. flow. releases.from. McPhee.. Guiding. documents. are. building. toward. a.comprehensive. approach. to. flow. management. for. irriga-tion,.recreation.and.the.environment..

“The.CWCB.has.had.active.participation.in.a.lot.of.these.efforts,”.says.Michael.Preston,.a.past.facilitator.of.the.Dialogue.and. general. manager. of. the. Dolores. Water. Conservancy.District,. which. operates. McPhee.. Discussions. about. federal.protections. “could. potentially. have. been. a. divisive. issue,”.Preston.says,.“but.we’re.trying.to.use.it.to.build.on.”

The. history. on. the. Dolores. and. the. cooperation. of. the.Dolores.River.Dialogue.reflect.the.progress.of.both.the.CWCB.and.the.Instream.Flow.Program..Since.the.program’s.creation.in.1973,.legislative.and.administrative.advances.and.changes.in. institutional. and. personal. attitudes. have. represented. an.evolution.in.how.the.Board.manages.water.resources.

“I. think. the. Instream. Flow. Program. has. grown. into.itself. over. time,”. says. Amy. Beatie,. executive. director.of. the.nonprofit.Colorado.Water.Trust.. “It’s.not.seen.as.anathema.anymore.”

ThE InSTREAm FloW PRoGRAm ARISESWestern.water.law.developed.without.much.consideration.for. rivers. themselves..The.doctrine.of.prior. appropriation.codified.the.principle.of.“first.in.time,.first.in.right,”.forcing.people.to.divert.as.much.water.as.they.could.possibly.use.or.risk.losing.their.senior.rights..With.the.exception.of.the.requirement. that. water. reach. downstream. senior. water.right.holders.or.be.allowed.to.run.out.of.state.to.meet.inter-state.compact.obligations,.the.doctrine.practically.ensured.the.depletion.of.creeks.and.rivers..

Over.time,.the.diversion.and.storage.of.water.reduced.the. peak. flows. of. streams. across. Colorado,. ultimately. to.the.detriment.of. the. fish,.wildlife.and.vegetation. that. rely.on.a.river’s.natural.hydrograph,.which.typically.includes.a.flood.stage.following.spring.snowmelt.or.seasonal.storms..

When Wilford Speer arrived in the Dolores River Valley in 1962, as the region’s first state-appointed water commissioner, ranchers greeted him with shotgun barrels. Settlers had worked hard to carve out a living in the wild desert landscape, and an outside authority on water management wasn’t given a warm welcome.


During. dry. summers,. some. stream.reaches. would. become. parched,. water-less. channels.. Native. and. introduced.trout. often. suffered,. as. did. the. lesser.known.and.appreciated.warm.water.fish,.including.species.of.chubs,.suckers,.dace.and.minnows..

The. ecological. degradation. didn’t.go. unnoticed. as. the. country. developed.an. environmental. consciousness. in. the.1960s.and.1970s..People.began.to.appre-ciate. rivers. for. their. recreational. and.environmental.values:.Bone-dry.streams.couldn’t.be.paddled,.rafted.or.fished,.nor.could.they.support.wildlife..

The.wave.of.new.environmental.laws,.including. the. National. Environmental.Policy. Act. of. 1969. and. the. Endangered.Species. Act. of. 1973,. enabled. the. federal.government.to.mandate.permit.conditions.requiring.flows.to.be.left.in.streams.to.pro-tect.the.environment..

This. concept. of. instream. flows,. and.particularly. the. idea. of. a. private. entity.or. a. federal. agency. imposing. them. on.the. state,. caused. “some. hand. wringing.and. worry. from. vested. interests,”. says.Michael.Browning,.a.water.attorney.with.Porzak.Browning.and.Bushong.in.Boulder,.because. it. threatened. long-standing.water.rights.under.the.prior.appropriation.law..Rather.than.face.the. imposition.of.a.federal. standard,. Colorado. water. users.forged.their.own.path..

State. and. regional. water. managers.“could.see.that.there.needed.to.be.some.protection. and. it. needed. to. be. guided.by.the.state,.and.not.the.federal.govern-ment,”.says.Dan.Merriman,.who.worked.as. chief. of. the. CWCB’s. Stream. and.Lake. Protection. Section. from. the. 1980s.through.2007..

The.Colorado.General.Assembly.cre-ated. the. state’s. Instream. Flow. Program.in. 1973,. recognizing. the. CWCB. as. the.exclusive. agent. for. appropriation. or.acquisition.of.water.rights.to.preserve.the.environment.“to.a.reasonable.degree.”

Ever. since. the. CWCB. was. first. cre-ated.in.1937,.its.work.was.primarily.dedi-cated.to.developing.water.resources,.so.the. Instream. Flow. Program. was. a. new.hat.for.the.Board.to.wear,.Merriman.says..And.the.Board.didn’t.necessarily.wear.it.comfortably.at.first..

On.one.hand,.Colorado.became.a.trail-blazer.among.western.states.by.acknowl-edging. and. protecting. instream. flows..But. the. language.and.bounds.of. the. law.

carefully. avoided. treading. on. existing.water. use.. Newly. appropriated. instream.flows.were.junior.to.existing.water.rights,.and. the. creation. of. instream. flows. were.limited. to. preservation—as. compared. to.the.improvement—of.environmental.con-ditions.. Perhaps. the. most. glaring. short-coming. was. that,. even. though. the. law.approved.of. acquisitions. to.obtain.more.senior. rights,. the. state. didn’t. make. any.money.available.for.that.purpose..

moRE ToolS FoR PRoTECTIonAs. of. 2009,. Colorado. has. appropriated.instream.flow.rights.on.more.than.8,800.miles. of. streams,. representing. about.30.percent.of. the. state’s.perennial. river.miles,. and. natural. lake-level. rights. on.486. lakes.. Typically,. an. individual. or.agency. recommends. a. stream. reach. or.water. body. for. protection,. and. CWCB.staff. then. prioritize. the. recommenda-tions.based.on.various.criteria..

Scientists. collect. biologic,. hydraulic.and. hydrologic. data. in. the. field. and.primarily. use. the. R2Cross. method,.originally. developed. by. the. U.S.. Forest.Service,. to. develop. the. recommenda-tions.. Depending. on. the. complexity. of.the.stream.reach.being.considered.or.the.ecosystem. being. protected,. other. tech-niques. may. be. used. to. allow. for. more.adaptive.management.of.the.resource..

Geoff.Blakeslee,.the.Board’s.chair.and.director. of. The. Nature. Conservancy’s.Yampa.River.Project,.is.especially.interest-ed. in.making.sure. the.Board.has.enough.data.to.be.sure.it.is.adequately.addressing.the. instream. flow. need.. He. hasn’t. been.

shy.about.asking.the.staff.to.return.to.the.field.to.collect.more.data,.especially.when.it.comes.to.assessing.a.river’s.year-round.flow. variability.. “It’s. very. important. that.folks. have. a. chance. to. look. at. that. year-round.hydrograph,”.he.says.

Perhaps.such.efforts.will.help.the.pro-gram.do.more.than.what.has.historically.been. just. “enough. to.keep. the.backs.of.fish. under. water,”. a. concern. expressed.by. Drew. Peternell,. an. attorney. and. the.director. of. Trout. Unlimited’s. Colorado.Water.Project..

The. extremely. basic. level. of. stream.protection. reflects. the. early. reluctance.of. water. managers. to. apply. instream.protections..“There.was.certainly.skepti-cism,”. Merriman. says. of. the. program’s.first.years..

Early. on,. two. water. conservation.districts. sued,. challenging. an. instream.flow.allocation.on.the.Crystal.River.near.Carbondale. and. questioning. the. pro-gram’s. constitutionality.. In. 1979,. the.Colorado. Supreme. Court. upheld. the.program’s.legality.within.the.prior.appro-priation. system,. and. the. power. bro-kers.of.Colorado.water.realized.instream.flows.were.here.to.stay..

Legislators. and. water. managers.spent. the. following. decade. clarifying.and. adding. to. the. program,. generally.to. protect. existing. water. users. and. the.exclusive.role.of.the.CWCB..In.1986,.for.example,.Sen..Martha.Ezzard.sponsored.legislation. that. confirmed. the. CWCB’s.authority. to. accept. donations. of. senior.water.rights.or.to.temporarily.lease.those.rights.to.protect.instream.flows..

The Colorado General Assembly created the state’s Instream Flow Program in 1973, recognizing the CWCB as the exclusive agent for appropriation or acquisition of water rights to preserve the environment “to a reasonable degree.”

H e a d wat e r s | Fa l l 2 0 0 9 2 5

“Each. and. every. piece. of. legislation.was. a. building. block,”. Merriman. says..“The. evolution. was. not. just. in. the. pro-gram.or.the.legislative.changes,.but.also.in. each. community. learning. about. the.program.and.seeing.how.it.did.not.have.detrimental.effects.on.water.users.”

But. environmental. interests. felt. that.the.evolution.was.occurring.too.gradually,.especially. as. recreational. use. and. envi-ronmental.appreciation.of.rivers.and.lakes.skyrocketed.along.with.the.state.popula-tion..At.the.beginning.of.the.21st.century,.some.environmental.groups.were.poised.to. push. legislation. that. would. allow. pri-vately.held. instream. flow. rights..A.com-promise.measure,.Senate.Bill.156.in.2001,.introduced. a. significant. revision. to. the.program,. authorizing. the. acquisition. of.water.for.instream.flow.use.to.improve—and.not.just.preserve—the.environment..

“It. was. a. really. important. tool. the.legislature. gave. us,”. says. Linda. Bassi,.current.section.chief.for.Stream.and.Lake.Protection.at.the.CWCB,.“because.it.gave.us. a. way. to. strengthen. our. program. to.do.more.with.acquired.water.”.

Also. in. 2001,. the. Colorado. Water.Trust. formed. as. an. independent. non-profit. group. with. support. from. both. the.environmental.community.and.state.and.regional. water. managers.. The. trust. pur-sues. voluntary. transactions. to. acquire.water.rights.for.instream.purposes,.hold-ing.a.purse.that. the.CWCB.still. lacked.at.the.time..Browning,.who.is.also.the.trust’s.president,.describes.the.organization.as.a.facilitator.for.the.Instream.Flow.Program.

Legislation. over. the. following. years.has. expanded. the. program’s. flexibility.and.authority.to.benefit.the.environment..In.2003,.amid.the.statewide.drought,.the.General. Assembly. authorized. the. use.of. loans. and. leases. of. water. rights. for.instream. flows. so. irrigators. could. tem-porarily. lease. their. water.. Subsequent.bills. have. provided. incentives. for. leas-ing,.including.protection.of.leased.water.rights’.historical. consumptive.use..After.initially.being.seen.as.a.threat.by.vested.water. users,. instream. flow. acquisitions.are.now.a.potential.income.source..

Each. revision. is. “another. arrow. in.the.quiver,”.says.Beatie.of. the.Colorado.Water.Trust.

But. the.new.brand.of.heavy.artillery.didn’t. arrive. until. 2008. when. the. state.legislature. finally. set. up. funds. to. pur-chase. water. rights.. A. House. bill. autho-

rized.the.use.of.$1.million.annually.from.the. CWCB’s. Construction. Fund. to. lease.or. acquire. water. for. instream. flows.. A.Senate.bill.allowed.for.another.$500,000.annually. to. be. spent. from. the. Species.Conservation. Trust. Fund. on. instream.flow. purchases. for. declining. or. endan-gered.native.fish.habitat.

“They’re.intended.to.put.life.into.the.acquisition. program,”. Peternell. says. of.the.changes.. “For.36.years,. [the.CWCB].had. the. right. to. acquire. water,. but. it.never.had.a.dime.to.do.it.”.

The. state. Instream. Flow. Program.has.finally.become.a.viable.alternative.to.federal. tools. to. impose. instream. flows,.Peternell.adds.

PuShInG FoRWARD on ThE DoloRESMany. of. the. new. elements. of. the.Instream. Flow. Program. are. being. test-ed. through. the. Dolores. River. Dialogue..River. interests. continue. to. wrestle. with.the.implications.of.Wild.and.Scenic.River.designation,. the. recovery. of. declining.warm. water. fish,. and. the. demands. of.trout. anglers. and. boaters—and. how. to.balance. them.with.agricultural,.commu-nity.and.industrial.use..

“We. decided. fairly. early. on. that. we.would. try. to. put. a. scientific. foundation.under.this,”.says.Preston..

Part. of. the. impetus. for. a. science-based. approach. followed. a. severe. die-off.in.the.trout.fishery.in.1990,.caused.by.low.releases.from.McPhee..The.CWCB’s.instream. flow. decree. for. the. Dolores.protects. up. to. 78. cubic. feet. per. sec-ond,. but. reservoir. operations. allowed.for. minimal. releases—just. 20. cfs—dur-ing. dry. years,. leading. to. high. water.temperatures. that. decimated. the. trout..Recognizing. the. threat. to. the. fishery,.water.managers.developed.a.“pool.man-agement”. scheme. that. sets.water. aside.in. the. reservoir. for. the. fish.. The. new.system. allows. for. variable. flows. during.the. most. critical. times,. including. the.summer.when. the.higher. releases.keep.water. temperatures. cool.. The. flexible.program.has.served.anglers,.boaters.and.the.ecosystem.without.forcing.the.CWCB.to.call.out.junior.water.rights..

“Variable. flow. requirements. for.eco-logical. purposes. are. one. of. the. things.the.Instream.Flow.Program.is.starting.to.adapt.to,”.Preston.says..

Dialogue. partners. generally. support.

working. through. the. collaborative. pro-cess.to.protect.downstream.flows.in.the.river. without. greater. federal. controls..In. December. 2008,. the. Lower. Dolores.Plan. Working. Group,. operating. under.the. Dialogue,. began. studying. alterna-tives.to.Wild.and.Scenic.designation.that.will.protect.existing.water.rights.and.also.uphold. the. “Outstandingly. Remarkable.Values”.that.have.earned.the.lower.river.Wild.and.Scenic.consideration.

The. Dialogue. has. also. surveyed.warm.water. fish.populations.and.evalu-ated.their.habitat.components,.which.dif-fer.from.trout’s..Native.fish.dominate.on.the.Dolores,.but. three.warm.water.spe-cies—the.flannelmouth.sucker,.bluehead.sucker. and. roundtail. chub—could. con-ceivably.be.listed.as.endangered.if.their.populations.continue.to.decline,.accord-ing. to. John. Sanderson,. a. freshwater.ecologist. for. The. Nature. Conservancy..Sanderson,. who’s. been. impressed. with.the.efforts.of.the.state.and.the.Dialogue,.says,. “The. Dolores. is. especially. unique.because.the.white.sucker—an.East.Slope.species. that. hybridizes. with. the. other.native.suckers—is.absent.”.

The. CWCB. has. provided. funds. to.help.establish.the.field.science.program,.which. is. also. looking. at. geomorphol-ogy. based. on. sediment. movement. as.well.as.riparian.vegetation.patterns..The.agency’s. support. leverages. the. coop-eration. of. other. entities,. such. as. Fort.Lewis.College.in.Durango.and.the.federal.San.Juan.Public.Lands.Center..The.next.step,.Preston.says,. is. to.figure.out.what.changes. to.make. to.water.management.within.the.existing.supply,.a.decision.that.will.weave.in.the.collective.data.on.water.quality. and. temperature,. flow. measure-ments,.and.fish.and.vegetation.surveys..Flow. acquisitions. or. leases. through. the.CWCB. could. be. used. to. ensure. that.instream. flow. benefits. are. maximized.within.the.existing.decrees.

Similar. compromises. are. being.worked. out. on. the. San. Juan. River. and.the.Upper.Colorado..Managers.anticipate.using.the.new.state.funds.for.additional.flow. acquisitions. and. leases. for. native.cutthroat. trout,. plains. fish. species. and.several.warm.water.fish.in.the.Colorado.River.system.

Contention.isn’t.going.to.just.float.away,.but.the.CWCB.and.water.users.are.wield-ing.policy.tools.instead.of.weapons.these.days..Wilford.Speer.would.be.relieved..q


the art and science of disaster aversionby.Laurie.J..Schmidt

“Surprise—we.got.more.water.than.expected!”.Those.words.headlined.a.recent.article.written.by.Colorado.state.climatologist.Nolan.Doesken.highlighting.the.wet.spring.and.summer.of.2009..But.Doesken.and.other.seasoned.Coloradans.aren’t.naive..They.understand.that.premature.expectations.are. a. dangerous. thing. to. embrace. in. a. state. characterized. by. climatic. extremes.. One. year’s. wet.season,.accompanied.by.hot.temperatures,.can.spawn.catastrophic.floods—only.to.be.followed.the.next.year.by.drought.conditions. that.make.one.wonder.how.there.could.have.ever.been.enough.water.for.a.flood..

Colorado’s.mid-continent. location.places. it.at. the.whim.of.competing.natural. forces,. including.moisture.from.the.Gulf,.storms.that.originate.in.the.Pacific,.and.polar.fronts.from.Canada..The.results.of.these.atmospheric.battles.largely.determine.the.amount.of.precipitation.that.will.fall.and.whether.it.will.be.a.wet,.dry,.or.average.year.

Although. agencies. monitor. snowpack. throughout. the. winter. to. estimate. spring. runoff,. a. more.influential. variable. in. the. equation. is. often. spring. weather,. which. can. change. everything.. “You. get.these.different.forces.competing.with.one.another,.and.you.never.know.which.one.is.going.to.win,”.says.Neil.Grigg,.professor.in.the.Department.of.Civil.and.Environmental.Engineering.at.Colorado.State.University.. “You. can’t. really. forecast. accurately. very. far. into. the. future. because. there. isn’t. enough.regularity.to.it.”.

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H e a d wat e r s | Fa l l 2 0 0 9 2 7

The. state’s. water. supply. at. any. given. time. or. location.fluctuates.between.the.extremes.of.too.much.water.and.not.enough—each. scenario. demanding. different. levels. of. pre-paredness.and.action..When.it.comes.to.the.task.of.hazards.planning,.the.state.has.a.full.spectrum.of.variables.to.juggle..

To. assist. with. drought. or. flood. planning,. the. Colorado.Water. Conservation. Board. provides. technical. assistance. to.local.communities,.supplying.them.with. information.to.help.them.implement.projects.for.public.safety.and.property.pro-tection..“The.state’s.role.is.to.facilitate.the.flow.of.information.so.that.folks.get.the.right.information.at.the.right.time.and.rec-ommendations.on.how.to.respond.to.it,”.says.Veva.Deheza,.section.chief.of.the.CWCB’s.Office.of.Water.Conservation.and.Drought. Planning.. “But. in. the. end,. we. really. have. no. abil-ity.to.dictate.the.response—that’s.all.done.at.the.local.level..We. can’t. ‘fix. it’. when. a. water. provider. runs. out. of. water.”...Too lITTlE, Too lATERunning.out.of.water.is.completely.within.the.realm.of.pos-sibility..At.least.five.major.droughts.have.occurred.in.Colorado.during.the.past.100.years:.at.the.turn.of.the.last.century,.dur-ing.the.Dust.Bowl.of.the.1930s,.1952.to.1956,.1974.to.1977,.and.the.most.recent.from.2001.to.2004..Really,.according.to.Doesken,.in.about.nine.out.of.ten.years,.drought.conditions.are. present. for. at. least. part. of. the. year. in. some. portion. of.Colorado..“You.rarely.go.for.long.periods.without.significant.or.extreme.drought,”.he.says..“Even.in.the.good.times,.we’re.usually.walking.a.fine.line.before.the.next.drought.”.

One. of. the. “good. times”. occurred. in. the. late. 1990s.when. the. state. experienced. one. of. the. wettest. periods. in.its. recorded. history.. That. was. followed. by. a. couple. of. dry.years—and.then.came.2002..As.an.individual.year,.Doesken.says. 2002. approached. a. worst-case. drought. scenario:. It.was.preceded.by.several.dry.years.so.reserves.were.already.drawn.down,.and.then.a.poor.snowpack.winter.was.followed.by.an.extremely.dry.spring.and.summer..“Most.of.the.major.water. providers. made. it. through. 2002. with. enough. water,”.says.Doesken.. “What.was. really. looking. terrible.was.2003.”.But.in.March.2003,.a.reprieve.came.in.the.form.of.a.three-day.storm.that.dropped.30.to.40.inches.of.snow.on.most.of.the.Front.Range..“That.storm.essentially.said.to.us,.‘Here—you’ve.got.another.year.to.think.about.it,’”.says.Doesken.

And. think. about. it. we. did.. “2002. was. a. huge. wake-up.call,.and.Colorado.hasn’t.been.the.same.since,”.says.Reagan.Waskom,. director. of. the. Colorado. Water. Institute.. That.drought.was.the.catalyst.for.a.huge.sea.change.in.Colorado.water,.says.Waskom,.evidenced.by.the.amount.of.water.being.purchased. and. transferred,. the. recognition. of. groundwater.over-appropriation.in.some.basins,.concerns.about.dry-up.of.agricultural. lands,.the. implementation.of.permanent.conser-vation.programs.and.so.on.

Also.as.part.of.that.wake-up.call,.people.began.to.question.whether.the.Colorado.Drought.Mitigation.and.Response.Plan,.a. blueprint. for. assessing. and. responding. to. drought. state-wide,. was. sufficient. to. address. current. drought. scenarios,.says.Deheza..

Now,. the. CWCB. is. leading. a. comprehensive. update. of.that. plan.. First. developed. in. 1981. at. Gov.. Richard. Lamm’s.behest,.the.drought.plan.was.updated.last.in.2007.to.comply.with.Federal.Emergency.Management.Act.guidelines..Deheza.says.the.2010.update.will.be.a.complete.overhaul..The.revised.plan.will.look.at.drought.impacts,.and.it.will.focus.heavily.on.assessing.the.state’s.vulnerability.to.drought.

“When.you.talk.about.drought.planning,.you’re.talking.about.identifying.triggers.and.indices.around.the.state.that.help. you. monitor. for. drought. conditions. and. do. a. better.job.planning.for. them,”.says.Deheza..A.drought. trigger. is.a.specific.indicator.that.activates.a.management.response,.such.as.a.reservoir.level.dropping.to.less.than.50.percent.of.its.storage.capacity..

In. 2002,. fire. was. the. trigger. that. got. everyone. stirred.up. about. drought,. says. Waskom.. “The. spring. rain. never.came,. and. it. got. hotter. and. hotter.. Forest. Service. staff.would.come.to.our.task.force.meetings.literally.smelling.of.smoke,”.he.recalls..

The.2010.revision.will.include.an.evaluation.of.all.drought.triggers.. “The. first. drought. plan. was. written. back. in. the.1980s,”.says.Deheza..“We’re.asking,.‘Are.there.other.triggers.that.are.better. indicators.now?.Are. there.new. tools. to.help.states.do.a.better.job.of.monitoring.drought?’”

The. monitoring. mechanism. of. the. drought. plan. is. car-ried.out.by.the.state’s.Water.Availability.Task.Force,.an.inter-agency.team.convened.by.the.governor.that.meets.regularly.to.share.information.on.monitoring.tools,.impacts.and.clima-tology..To.carry.out. its.monitoring. role,. the. task. force.uses.tools.such.as. the.Natural.Resources.Conservation.Service’s.SNOTEL. (SNOpack. TELemetry). measurements,. the. Palmer.Drought.Index,.and.Statewide.Water.Supply.Initiative.reports.

“A.big.part.of.the.task.force.is. looking.at.climatology.far.enough.ahead.so.that.Colorado.isn’t.caught.off.guard.by.the.next. drought,”. says. Waskom,. who. sits. on. the. agricultural.impacts.sub-task.force.under.the.umbrella.of.the.larger.team..“You.can’t.wait.until. the. fires.are.burning.and.you’re. in. the.midst.of.it.”.

Despite. the. existence. of. the. drought. plan. and. the. task.force,.Deheza.says.Colorado.has.a. long.way. to.go.when. it.comes.to.drought.planning..“We.as.a.state.and.as.a.citizenry.should.know.that.drought.is.part.of.a.semi-arid.environment,.and.yet.we’re.still.not.prepared.even.for.the.natural.variability.that.occurs.in.the.system.”.

Studies. show. that. communities. with. active. con-servation. programs. are. better. positioned. to. endure.periods. of. drought,. and. encouraging. such. programs.is. part. of. Deheza’s. job.. But. it’s. important. to. recognize.the. difference. between. water. conservation. and. man-aging. for. and. responding. to. drought.. “A. drought. is. an.extreme. situation. that. calls. for. some. pretty. onerous.restrictions,”. says. Deheza.. “You’re. asking. for. a. quick.and. immediate. response,. and. that. usually. requires.you. to. put. regulations. in. place.”. But. in. a. planning.situation,. she. says,. you. try. to. motivate. people. to.take. actions. that. go. beyond. just. turning. off. the. tap..


Too muCh, Too FASTWater. shortage. wasn’t. the. problem. in.Fort. Collins. on. July. 28,. 1997;. it. was. too.much.water—and.no.place.for.it.all.to.go..Over.a.two-day.period,.intense.rainstorms.channeled.a.deluge.of.water.down.narrow.Spring. Creek.. It. was. a. catastrophic. flood.that. claimed. five. lives,. destroyed. a. resi-dential. trailer. park,. and. caused. hundreds.of. millions. of. dollars. in. damage. to. the.Colorado.State.University.campus..Should.we. have. been. caught. off. guard?. Just. 20.years.earlier,.the.Big.Thompson.Flood.left.144. people. dead. and. caused. more. than.$35. million. in. property. damage—it. was.Colorado’s.deadliest.natural.disaster.

Flash.floods.are.another.regular.part.of. Colorado’s. water. cycle,. but. flood.forecasting.is.also.a.science.fraught.with.variables,.and.Grigg.says.our.predictions.have.not.been.very.good..“You.can.look.backwards. and. study. the. statistics,. and.you. can. nail. the. average. recurrence.interval,.but.you.can’t.say.when.the.next.flood.is.going.to.happen.”.

What.we.can.do,.Grigg.says,.is.reduce.vulnerability..“On.the.vulnerability.side,.a.lot.of.things.change,”.says.Grigg..“More.people.live.in.areas.that.are.flood-prone,.and.dams.also.weaken.over.time..Is.the.state. prepared?. Are. we. doing. emer-gency.drills?”

Floodplain. maps. are. a. key. tool. in.addressing. vulnerability.. Used. by. insur-ance. companies,. the. National. Flood.Insurance. Program,. and. local. govern-ments,. the. maps. assist. in. evaluating. the.level.of. flood. risk. to.homeowners.and. in.determining. where. development. should.occur.. “Accurate. floodplain. mapping. is.truly. the. foundation. for. a. solid. flood-plain. management. program,”. says. Tom.Browning,.chief.of.the.CWCB’s.Watershed.Protection. and. Flood. Mitigation. Section..

“When. you. don’t. have. accurate. maps,. it.makes. it. very. challenging. for. local. flood-plain.administrators.to.do.their.jobs.”

In. 2003,. FEMA. launched. an. effort.to. update. floodplain. maps. throughout.the. country.. Now,. the. CWCB. is. spend-ing. $1.5. million. in. matching. funds. for.FEMA’s.grant.dollars.on.the.Colorado.Map.Modernization.Program..“If.you.look.at.the.flood.maps.from.most.parts.of. the.coun-try,. they’re. from. the. 1970s. and. 80s,. and.these.are.paper.maps,”.says.Thuy.Patton,.state. map. modernization. coordinator. at.the. CWCB,. which. is. leading. Colorado’s.modernization.effort. in.all.but. the.Denver.metro.area..“Since.then,.a.lot.of.develop-ment.has.happened,.and.the.maps.haven’t.been.updated.”

FEMA’s.initial.objective.was.to.convert.the.paper.maps.to.digital.format,.but.as.the.project. progressed,. technical. errors. and.missing. information. in. the. existing. maps.came. to. light.. “Now. the. emphasis. is. on.not. only. updating. the. maps,. but. also. on.correcting. the. mistakes. and. making. sure.the.maps.reflect.the.true.risk,”.says.Patton..

While. the.modernization.program.will.go. a. long. way. towards. accurately. iden-tifying. flood-prone. areas,. Grigg. says. we.still.need. to.be.prepared. for.catastrophe..“A.worst-case.scenario.would.be.a.major.flash.flood.that.strikes.in.a.steep.area.and.triggers. a. dam. failure. or. urban. flooding.that. causes. more. disruption. than. we’ve.ever.seen.”.

“Most. of. us. see. these. rare. disasters.as. probably. not. likely. to. happen. in. our.lifetime,”. says. Browning.. “But. the. Spring.Creek.and.Big.Thompson. floods. showed.that.these.large.events.can.and.do.occur,.and. they. can. exceed. what. the. minimum.design.standard. is. in. the. floodplain.man-agement. world.”. The. current. building.standard. is.a.design.that.can.withstand.a.

100-year. flood. event,. but. Browning. says.the.CWCB.endorses.a.higher.design.stan-dard—for. a. 500-year. flood—for. critical.facilities,. such. as. hospitals. and. fire. and.police.stations..But,.he.adds,. there. is. the.cost.of. infrastructure.to.consider.coupled.with. whether. the. public. values. stronger.building.structures.enough.to.pay.the.price.with.its.tax.dollars..

Doesken. says. societal. values. will.always. influence.how. the.state’s.water. is.used,.both.in.times.of.plenty.and.times.of.scarcity..“You.have.to.understand.the.trad-eoffs,”.he.says,.noting.that.prioritizing.cer-tain. uses. inevitably. limit. someone’s. abil-ity. to.do.something.else..And.Colorado’s.steep. population. projections. point. to. a.balancing.act.that.will.only.become.more.precarious..Not.only.are.Coloradans.at.risk.as.development.pushes—and.is.allowed—.into. the. floodplain,.but.a. form.of. cultural.drought—too.many.people.depending.on.too.little.water—will.make.us.more.vulner-able.to.natural.climatic.drought.cycles..

The.CWCB.Director’s.Report.for.its.July.2009.board.meeting.stated.that.water.sup-ply.conditions.have.continued.to.improve.statewide. and. that. June. 1. reservoir. stor-age.data.show.“the.highest.positive.depar-ture.from.average.volumes.since.late.sum-mer.of.1999.”.But.this.is.one.of.those.times.that.Doesken.refers.to.as.“the.good.times,”.and.it.won’t.last..“Drought.keeps.showing.up,.and.every.couple.of.decades.it.shows.up.really.ugly,”.he.says..“Any.of.the.large.water. providers. will. tell. you:. You. string.three.drought.years.in.a.row,.and.that’s.a.worst-case.scenario..We.do.not.have.four-year.capacity.”.

It.seems.the.CWCB.would.agree..“We.feel. confident. that. we. will. be. seeing. a.lot. more. 2002. years. happening,”. says.Deheza.. “And. quite. frankly,. we. are. not.geared.up.for.that.”..q

“We as a state and as a citizenry should know that

drought is part of a semi-arid environment, and yet we’re

still not prepared even for the natural variability that occurs

in the system.” —veva Deheza Ke

vin M

olon

ey

H e a d wat e r s | Fa l l 2 0 0 9 2 9

Endowing PartnEr

Colorado Water Conservation Board

ChartEr MEMbErsaurora Water; Board of Water Works of Pueblo; Bureau of reclamation–Western Colorado area office; Camp dresser and McKee; Central Colorado Water Conservancy district; Colorado association of realtors; Colorado river Water Conservation district; Colorado Water resources and Power development authority; denver Suburban Water district; denver Water; MillerCoors; MWH; northern Colorado Water Conservancy district; rio Grande Water Conservation district; Southwestern Water Conservation district; upper Gunnison river Water

Conservancy district; ute Water Conservancy district; Vranesh and raisch, llP.

PionEEr MEMbErsBrown and Caldwell; City of longmont; Colorado Potato administrative Committee; Colorado Springs utilities; Consolidated Mutual Water Company; douglas County Water resource authority; leonard rice engineers; lower South Platte Water Conservancy district; Metro Wastewater reclamation district; rio Grande Valley Water users association; Sakata Farms; San luis Valley irrigation Co.; San luis Valley

Water Conservancy district; tri-State Generation and transmission association.

sustaining MEMbErsaMeC; applegate Group; Carlson, Hammond & Paddock; Castle Pines north Metropolitan district; City of Grand Junction–utilities; City of thornton; Colorado Bar association; left Hand Water district; Merrick & Company; nolte & associates; orchard Mesa irrigation district; Pat/PaC Colorado dairy Farmers; Stanek Constructors, inc.; upper arkansas Water Conservancy district; Weld County Farm Bureau; Western State College; William, turner and Holmes, PC.

assoCiatE MEMbErsaqua engineering, inc.; arkansas river outfitters association; ayres associates; Black and Veatch; richard Bratton; Center Conservation district; Christiansen Corporate resources; Colorado Municipal league; delta Conservation district; douglas County–Community development; duncan, ostrander and dingess, P.C.; George K. Baum and Company; Grand County; Guaranty Bank; Headwaters Corporation; High County Hydrology; Gregory J. Hobbs, Jr.; Hoskin, Farina, aldrich & Kampf; Hydro Construction Co., inc.; Kogovsek and associates, inc.; Middle Park Water Conservancy district; Palisade irrigation district; Jonathon Perlmutter; Platte Canyon Water and Sanitation district; rocky Mountain agribusiness assn.; roxborough Water and Sanitation district; Sherman & Howard; St. Vrain and left Hand Water Conservancy district; dick unzelman; Wheatland electric Co-op; Janet Williams; Y-W electric assoc., inc.

watErshEd MEMbErsanderson and Chapin, P.C.; animas Consolidated ditch Company; anschutz Family Foundation; Bernard lyon Gaddis and Khan; Bishop-Brogden associates; Boulder County Parks and open Space; City of Westminster; Collins, Cockrel and Cole, PC; Colorado association of Conservation districts; Colorado Stone, Sand and Gravel association; Colorado Water trust; deere and ault Consultants, inc; ero resources Corp.; Farmers Grain Co.; Paul Frohardt; Gilpin County Commissioner; Helton and Williamsen, PC; diane Hoppe; Scott Hummer; John C. Halepaska and associates, inc.; taylor Hawes; Kennedy/Jenks Consultants; Greg larson; lutin Curlee Family Partnership, ltd.; John & Susan Maus; Jack McCormick; dale Mitchell; Porzak Browning and Bushong; John & nancy Porter; roaring Fork Conservancy; ann Seymour; Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy district; teC inc.; daniel tyler; u.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; reagan

Waskom; Water Colorado, llC; White and Jankowski; Fred Wolf.

indiv idual MEMbErsSteven acquafresca; Bill alt; Kenneth anderson; rick anderson; Susan andrews; Frank anesi; Clarissa arellano; tony arnett; Carl Bachhuber; Steve Baer; david Bailey; Carol Barber; denise Marie Bates; Jini Bates; david Batts; troy Bauder; Jeff Berlin; david Berry; Mike Berry; Chris Bieker; tillie Bishop; ronald Blatchley; Chad Bledsoe; linda Bledsoe; John Bliese; Sharon Bokan; lacey Books; ann M. Brady; rob Buirgy; Kathleen Butler; Josephine Carpenter; Gretchen Cerveny; ron Childs; aaron Clay; amy S. Conklin; John Cordes; Pete Crabb; Barry Cress; rita Crumpton; don Cummins; Paul V. dannels; ray derr; Kelly dinatale; Joseph dischinger; lewis H. entz; Harold evans; terrance Ferebee; nathan Fey; Barney J. Fix; thomas Flanagan, Jr.; Katy Flynn; Wayde Forrester; Jack Fox; neil Gamblin; richard Gilbert; William t. Goetz; Wayne Goin; Pete Gunderson; david Hallford; Wendy Hanophy; duane Hanson; Johanna Harden; Paul Harms; raymond Harriman; Bob & Sue Helm; William Hendrickson; Mike Herbst; Mark & Sara Hermundstad; Kinsey Holton; Barbara Horn; nancy Hurt; Will Hutchins; robert Huzjak; robert Jackson; Marian Jacobsen; lynn and Joan Johnson; toby Johnson; Korey Kadrmas; Pete Kasper; russell Kemp; amy Klabunde; Kirk Klancke; Jake Klein; Walter Knudsen; Kim Koehn; Chris Kraft; Sam J. Krage; Kate Kramer; robert Krassa; Bruce Kroeker; ramsey Kropf; rod Kuharich; Barbara lambert; Greg larson; Wesley laVanchy; Charles lawler; Patrick lawler; Katryn leone; Scott leslie; Mark levorsen; richard lichtenheld; anthony lippis; Mary Sue liss; Marie livingston; Patricia locke; Becky long; tom long; robert longenbaugh; James luey; andrew Mackie; Meghan Maloney; Mary Marchun; Zach Margolis; tyler Martineau; donald Martinusen; Steve Maxwell; Murray McCaig; Bryan McCarty; Kevin McCarty; Charles McKay; rick Mcloud; rich Meredith; Jim Miller; Harold Miskel; James Montgomery; larry Morgan; andrew Mueller; Patrick F Mulhern; david l. nelson; John norton; Stevan o’Brian; Michael o’Grady; John orr; Jack Perrin; Mark Perry; drew Peternell; Stan Peters; Connie Peterson; J. t. Pickarts; John redifer; Michael reeg; Chris reichard; david a. reinertsen; Melvin rettig; rachel richards; Gary roberts; Bob robins; ellen robinson; Kelly roesch; Steve rogers; Chris rowe; Janet rowland; rick Sackbauer; John Sayre; erich Schwiesow; donald Schwindt; Stephen Seltzer; tom Sharp; douglas Shriver; George Sibley; Sonja Sjoholm-deHaas; Jay Skinner; Gregory M. Smith; Jo ann Sorensen; Vicky Sprague; Phillip a Steininger; luther Stromquist; James taylor; Megan thomas; Phyllis thomas; Carl trick; dale trowbridge; Horst ueblacker; Paul van der Heijde; Jay Van loan; tom Verquer; richard von Bernuth; Marc Waage; dennis Wagner; William Wangnild; Chuck Wanner; robert Ward; russell Waring; tom Waymire; david Wegner; Carrie S. Weiss; tim Werkley; Jody

l. Williams; dick Wolfe; Jason r. Wolfe; Connie Woodhouse; lane Wyatt; Kirby Wynn; edith Zagona; Kenneth Zaring; Christa Zemlin; Patti Zink.

Thank You!the Colorado Foundation for Water Education would like to sincerely thank all of the organizations and individuals

who have provided their financial support in 2009. our work would not be possible without you.

iSto

ckPh

oto.

com

1580 Logan St., Suite 410 • Denver, CO 80203

Available Winter 2009

CFWE Citizen’s guide to Colorado’s interstate CompactsColorado’s. headwaters. location. means. water. arising. here. is. ulti-mately. used. by. 18. states. and. the. Republic. of. Mexico.. Allocating.water.between.these.states.and.between.the.U.S..and.Mexico.has.a.long.and.conflict-ridden.history.

Those.conflicts. and.ensuing.negotiations.have. resulted. in. two.international. treaties,. nine. interstate. compacts,. two. U.S.. Supreme.Court.decrees,.and.two.interstate.agreements.with.which.Colorado.is.directly.involved..This.winter,.the.Colorado.Foundation.for.Water.Education.looks.forward.to.releasing.its.Citizen’s.Guide.to.Colorado’s.Interstate. Compacts.. This. installment. in. the. Citizen’s. Guide. series.will.analyze.the.history.leading.to.the.development.of.these.water-sharing. agreements,. the. evolution. of. their. administration. and. the.competing.interests.that.continue.to.be.involved..Written.by.experts.and.peer-reviewed,.this.is.a.Citizen’s.Guide.you.won’t.want.to.miss!

The. Colorado. Foundation. for. Water.Education’s. 4th. annual. Friends. of. Water.Education. Golf. Classic. and. Family. Day.was. held. this. past. August. at. Denver’s.legendary. Pinehurst. Country. Club.. New.for. this. year. was. the. addition. of. tennis,.swimming.and.other.family.activities..This.fun-filled. event. was. capped. by. awards.and.a.banquet..

While. a. social. and. networking. event.for. CFWE. members,. the. money. raised.helps.fund.the.serious.education.work.of.the.Foundation.

The. CFWE. would. like. to. thank. all. of.the.individuals.who.attended.and.all.of.the.sponsors. who. helped. make. this. annual.event.a.success:

MWH

Brown & Caldwell

Colorado Water resources & power development Authority

denver Water

Merrick & Company

nolte & Associates

leonard rice Engineers

AMEC

douglas County Water resource Authority

guaranty Bank

High Country Hydrology

Sherman Howard

CFWE 4th Annual golf tournament a Success—Including a $10,000 Hole-in-One!

Congratulations to Don Ament on his hole-in-one that netted him $10,000!

C o lo r a d o F o u n dat i o n F o r wat e r e d u C at i o n | C F w e . o r g

Delph Carpenter’s 1922 map of Colorado Interstate River Systems from state archives.

Fall 2009 The CWCB

Documents

Transcript of Fall 2009 The CWCB