Request for Ideas: Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study. Phase 4. Development and Evaluation of Opportunities for Balancing Water Supply and Demand.

摘要

The Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study (Study), initiated in January 2010, is being conducted by the Bureau of Reclamations (Reclamation) Upper Colorado (UC) and Lower Colorado (LC) regions, and agencies representing the seven Colorado River Basin States1 The Study contains four major phases: 1) Water Supply Assessment, 2) Water Demand Assessment, 3) System Reliability Analysis, and 4) Development and Evaluation of Opportunities for Balancing Supply and Demand. Interim Report No. 1 was published in June 2011 and provided a snapshot of the work completed in the Study as of January 31, 2011. Since the publication of Interim Report No. 1, work has focused on (1) completing the Water Demand Assessment by quantifying the demand scenarios, (2) completing the Water Supply Assessment through further investigation into the supply scenario that considers a changing climate, and (3) identifying additional system reliability metrics to be used in the System Reliability Analysis. It is anticipated that important findings from this work on Phases 1, 2, and 3 will be published in January 2012. (Basin States). The purpose of the Study is to define current and future imbalances in water supply and demand in the Colorado River Basin (Basin) and the adjacent areas of the Basin States that receive Colorado River water over the next 50 years (through 2060), and to develop and analyze options and strategies to resolve those imbalances. The Study is being conducted in collaboration with stakeholders throughout the Basin, and broad stakeholder input is paramount to the success of the Study.