A Sustainable Solution for Meeting Colorado’s Water Needs Through 2050

DENVER – Western Resource Advocates (WRA), Trout Unlimited (TU) and the Colorado Environmental Coalition (CEC) today released a plan that outlines how Colorado Front Range communities can meet projected human water demands through 2050 while keeping rivers healthy.  In the new report, “Filling the Gap: Commonsense Solutions for Meeting Front Range Water Needs,” the conservation groups detail an approach that relies on low-impact water supply projects, conservation, water reuse, and agricultural-urban water cooperation to meet Colorado’s growing water demands. Colorado is currently working through the Interbasin Compact Committee (IBCC) process to determine how the state’s river basins can meet their future water needs.  The IBCC is considering a number of new storage projects, transbasin diversions, and moving of water over long distances.  The “Filling the Gap” report offers an alternative plan showing how Front Range communities in the South Platte River Basin, home to some of Colorado’s largest municipalities including Denver, Boulder, and Fort Collins, can meet  future needs without new major diversions of water from other river basins.  The plan outlined in the “Filling the Gap” report is designed to be less expensive than traditional water supply approaches.

PDF copies of the report can be found at: http://www.tu.org/sites/www.tu.org/files/documents/FillingTheGap.pdf

High Country trying to deal with Front Range water needs

Janice KurbjunSummit County Correspondent Post Independent

Front Range residents and industry are expected to need 1.06 million acre-feet of water annually by 2050 — an increase of 365,000 acre-feet over today's needs — and several conservation organizations think there are better ways to get it than by building transbasin diversions.

Conservation organizations Western Resource Advocates, Trout Unlimited and the Colorado Environmental Coalition released a report Tuesday that claims “Colorado can chart a new innovative path forward that protects our rivers, streams and local communities.”

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New report offers alternative vision for state’s water needs

Summit County Citizens Voice

by Bob Berwyn

“Many of Colorado’s rivers and streams are depleted to the point that they no longer support robust fisheries or recreational opportunities,” said Drew Peternell, director of TU’s Colorado Water Project. “Additional diversions from these streams could be devastating.  ‘Filling the Gap’ charts a responsible path for meeting our water needs while protecting our state’s high quality of life.” http://summitcountyvoice.com/2011/03/02/new-report-offers-alternative-vision-for-states-water-needs/

Even the New York Times is noticing the fracking issue in Colorado!

Regulation Lax as Gas Wells’ Tainted Water Hits Rivers . This is continuing to be a big issue in Colorado. As our energy demands rise we will have to find new sources of fuel.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/27/us/27gas.html?_r=2&hp