From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):
A committee advising state consultants on how to set up the study met Monday. Concerns about whether an existing state model used in other basins or a model more commonly used in several ongoing water studies were expressed. The group also clarified that the state model would be used primarily for planning, while the data in the model could be applied to water management…
Officials from the Colorado Water Conservation Board, which is developing the model with the Division of Water Resources, assured the group that the state would not ignore data that is already being collected in other studies. “We’re not telling anybody they have to abandon what they’ve developed,” said Ray Alvarado of the CWCB staff. “We’re not intending to do this in a vacuum. We need this tool, and it’s been used successfully in other basins.” The state has developed decision support systems for the Colorado River and Rio Grande. It is finalizing the support system for the South Platte…
In some ways, the Arkansas River basin study is the most complicated to develop because of exchanges, groundwater interaction and water rights issues. It was delayed because of ongoing litigation with Kansas over the Arkansas River Compact. Alternatives for the Arkansas River basin decision support system would range from $4.5 million to $17.3 million, depending on the level of detail desired, according to a draft report. The final report is expected to be presented to the CWCB in January…
“After we completed a needs assessment last year, our roundtable said the DSS was the most important thing we could do,” said Gary Barber, chairman of the Arkansas Basin Roundtable. “There is a great deal of expectation for what the DSS will do.”
More Arkansas River basin coverage here.