TOPICS:
Understanding environmental problems; administrative procedures; litigation; applicable to water use issues; written for the first party participant.
ABSTRACT:
Colorado's Water Resources is an examination on Colorado's water supply, the legal bases for its use, the prospect of increasing the supply through engineering and conservative use, and the administration of water and water policy.
Colorado's Water Resources will be of interest to those who seek an understanding of the contemporary history of water supply and use prior to the increase in population in Colorado. The first chapter examines the geographical position of Colorado and the inherent scarcity of water as a result of that position. The next chapter lists the sources of both surface water and groundwater within the State. This chapter also offers statistics on the percentages of water use per resource, per type of user. This is divided into rural, municipal, industrial and irrigation users.
The third chapter addresses the legal bases of water use. In this context the Doctrine of Prior Appropriation is considered. The working of the system and its interpretation by the State Supreme Court are addressed. Finally, the various Western and Eastern slope river compacts are listed and explained. The fourth chapter examines water use in the major river basins of the South Platte, Arkansas, and Colorado rivers and the San Luis Valley. It also briefly notes the need, arising out of increases of municipal use with increases in population, for more storage capacity. The fifth chapter addresses water use in the Denver metropolitan area. This chapter considers both the distribution and consumption of water in Denver and its surrounding counties, and the increasing need to improve water and sewage facilities in the metropolitan area.
The sixth chapter examines the possibilities for increasing the supply of water through engineering projects. The following types of projects are considered: irrigation and reclamation, flood control, and small watershed. The prospects for financing these projects is also considered. The next chapter addresses the possibility of conservation efforts to effectively increase the water supply. Among the possibilities are the reduction of water loss in agriculture and industrial use. In addition the effect that reduction in pollution in both agriculture and industry would have on water use is examined. The possibility of increasing the water production of forests within the State is given brief consideration.
The eighth chapter examines water administration and water policy. Of primary interest is: the administration of water rights, the water interests of State agencies, and the making of water policy. The need for coördinated policy for all resources and public support for effective water policy is discussed. The next chapter addresses the very different water use and supply situations of the two slopes in the State: the Eastern and Western slopes. The divisive nature of this bifurcation and prospects for future coöperation are examined. The final chapter offers directions for effective action divided into two categories. First, the need for more information regarding: the extent and location of the State's water resources, and the effect and extent of pollution of the State's waters is considered. Secondly, the need for modernization and strengthening of water laws is addressed. The text is followed by a glossary and a selected bibliography.
Colorado's Water Resources is a cursory examination undertaken at the beginning of the formulation of a comprehensive water use and distribution plan in the State of Colorado. Although dated, it does shed light on the beginnings of Colorado's struggle with the management of its most scarce natural resource.
T. A. O'Lonergan