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When I first started paying attention to Colorado water,
back in the days of Wayne Aspinall, the major argument for
more dams and diversions was that if we don't find a way
to store and use Colorado water, then California will get
it.
That was unthinkable, of course. Better to plug every river and flood every alpine valley than to let the Golden State get water that was rightfully ours. Millions for Colorado storage, but not one drop for California.
So it came as a surprise to hear that Gov. Roy Romer is offering 400,000 acre-feet of water (an acre-foot is the amount of water necessary to convert a $100 sagebrush parcel into an exclusive $15,000 lot with a protective covenant) to drought-stricken California.
Although the news was shocking -- especially to the lieutenant governor -- the governor's offer has considerable merit. On economic grounds, it is obvious that you can grow more crops with an acre-foot of water in sunny California than in gelid Colorado. An irrigated sidewalk in Pasadena sits in front of a $300,000 bungalow, whereas a wet sidewalk in Colorado often lies before a HUD foreclosure that goes begging at $30,000.
On practical grounds, we should look at the alternatives. For example, if the water of the upper Gunnison is allowed to flow to California, then we have beautiful free-flowing rivers, idyllic locales for fishing, rafting, camping, loafing, etc.
But if that water stays in Colorado, then it will go to Colorado Springs and Aurora. That means dams, as well as a maze of conduits, canals, tunnels and pumping stations to scar our mountains.
With this additional water, those cities will grow. A bigger Colorado Springs means even more right-wing dingbats in our legislature. More people along the Front Range means more congestion and pollution.
A lot of those people may visit the mountains on weekends, but that really isn't anything a sane person would call a benefit.
California tourists have to spend serious money on motels and restaurants to visit Colorado; tight-fisted day-tripper Front Range tourists buy an occasional tank of gas, if that. With Colorado population growth, we get the aggravation of tourists without any of the financial benefit.
Further, Californians hardly ever cut fences or go four-wheeling across delicate alpine tundra. They do not haul off firewood, and seldom do they dump their unwanted puppies along the first convenient mountain road.
Sending Colorado water to California is an excellent way to improve both our environment and our economy, and Gov. Romer deserves the support of every concerned Coloradan in his struggle to let water flow downhill.
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