Water for Colorado and the West: What's Next? (original) (raw)

Colorado Water Law & The Last GASP

In 1991, House Bill 91-1154 passed the Colorado Water Conservation Act requiring all water providers with annual demands of 2,000 acre-feet or more to have an approved Water Conservation Plan on file with the State (Kathlene 2010). During the Colorado drought of 2000-2002, water supply and appropriation in the lower South Platte River region of Colorado became a critical statewide problem affecting many senior and junior rights users profoundly. The state experienced the most severe single-year (2002) drought on record, prompting Colorado lawmakers to consider forty-three water bills and resolutions, many aimed at statewide drought relief.

On Water Conservation and Reform of the Prior Appropriation Doctrine in Colorado Author(s

Economic Geography, 1985

The prior appropriation doctrine has come under criticism f or impeding both the efficient allocation of water and the adoption of water conservation improvements. Analysis of water rights statutes and case law revealed the following opportunities for evolutionary reform of the appropriation doctrine in Colorado: more precise definition of key property rights concepts (such as, "beneficial use," "waste," and "duty of water"); improved public administration (e.g., in record-keeping and analysis of water use patterns); and organizational adjustments to reduce transaction costs and strategic behavior. Integration of vested rights with the concept of maximum beneficial use will depend upon such creative adjustments in public and private institutions for water management.

Colorado Review: Water Management and Land Use Planning Integration

Colorado Water Conservation Board, 2010

The focus of this report is on the water demand management components of land use planning and practices. Demand management is a broad strategy for meeting the water requirements of Colorado’s growing population by reducing the water needed to sustain each household and person. Ways to reduce future demand include building denser communities, infilling existing urban environments, following low impact development standards, and using water wisely. Many of these demand management strategies have a land use component which will be explored herein. Understanding what has already been accomplished, where we might go, and how we can continue to move forward is the purpose of the report. The report does not set the course but rather sets the stage for communities, planners, and policymakers to move forward armed with information about policies, statutes, and strategies that exist in Colorado and the West.