The Customer
Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) [2013]
The Challenge
In response to increasing and competing demands on water supplies and the need for integrated water planning and management for Colorado, Governor John Hickenlooper on May 14, 2013 issued an executive order to develop The Colorado Water Plan by December 2015. The Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) is leading the effort to develop the plan, initially focusing on Basin Implementation Plans (BIPs) coordinated with basin roundtables (established as part of Colorado Water for the 21st Century Act). The South Platte and Metro roundtables are partnering for a joint BIP effort and have hired two consulting teams for the consumptive and nonconsumptive (environmental and recreational) parts of the BIP. The overall BIP content for each basin will be incorporated into the Colorado Water Plan.
The Solution
A collaborative effort to leverage previous CWCB studies and tools and produce an integrated South Platte/Metro BIP.
The Impact
The BIP document will evaluate consumptive and nonconsumptive needs in an integrated way to address the water supply gap and represent the values of the South Platte and Metro basins.
The Implementation
The Open Water Foundation, as a subcontractor to West Sage Water Consultants, is providing
support to create the nonconsumptive portion of the South Platte/Metro BIP, including
expertise related to:
- using the State of Colorado’s HydroBase database and Colorado’s Decision Support Systems (CDSS)
- leveraging previous work from the Statewide Water Supply Initiative (SWSI) and Basin Needs Decision Support System (BNDSS)
- integration of consumptive and nonconsumptive projects and methods to understand relationships and impacts
The CWCB and BIP teams are working to meet a deadline for a draft BIP by July 2014.