Here's a report on the goings on in the Colorado River Basin Roundtable, from the Glenwood Springs Post Independent "reg". From the article, "In December, the Colorado River Basin Roundtable considered eight proposals for project money ranging from water availability studies on the Roaring Fork to development of a whitewater kayaking park near Palisade. One of the proposals, which will be submitted to the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) for funding, is an assessment of potential water needs for energy development in the northwest corner of the state. 'The big concern as energy develops in the state is where the water will come from,' said Dave Merritt, chief engineer with the Glenwood Springs-based Colorado River Water Conservation District. The Yampa/White River and Colorado River roundtable groups joined forces on the project proposal. The collaboration made sense, given the current levels of oil and gas production within those basins, in Rio Blanco and Garfield counties, as well as expected oil shale development...
"Energy development, whether natural gas, oil shale or coal, will require huge amounts of water. According to the project's grant application, water will be needed for development of the resources, especially for oil shale and electrical generation...
"For the short term, while the research continues on the BLM leases, power will come from existing plants, Birch said. But when the companies go to commercial production, energy requirements will grow exponentially, necessitating on-site coal or natural gas-fired electrical plants. Demands on local towns and cities will also increase with the expected influx of thousands of energy workers. According to the grant application, which cited an estimate by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Technology Laboratory, oil shale will bring in 70,000 new workers to Colorado and Utah where that development is expected to take place."
"colorado water"
6:32:59 AM 
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