U.S. Water News Online
DENVER -- Colorado will need enough additional water to supply the equivalent of a new city about the size of the Denver metropolitan area by 2030, according to a new study.
The $2.7 million study, funded by the Colorado Water Conservation Board, concluded that the South Platte River basin, which supplies Denver and much of northeast Colorado, will need 60 percent more water if current growth projections are accurate.
The study, issued recently, urged residents to reuse water, build dams and conserve more.
Water experts in each of Colorado's eight river basins say coping with the shortfall could require more conservation, cooperation among water interests, reuse of existing water, transferring water rights, improving or enlarging existing dams, pipelines and reservoirs, or building new ones.
``This study will provide a solid foundation for local interests, state policy-makers and water providers to determine the best ways to meet current and future demands for water, and to be better prepared to deal with droughts such as the current extreme, multiyear drought our state continues to face,'' said Eric Wilkinson, chairman of the conservation board.
More than 80 public meetings in the eight river basins over 18 months were held to develop the assessment, which also included input from surveys with 170 Colorado water providers.
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