Jim Lochhead – Denver Water CEO/Manager Urban Water Institute

1. A Western city’s water future – Meeting Denver’s challenges through flexibility & collaboration Jim Lochhead – Denver Water CEO/Manager Urban Water Institute

2. Denver Water facts • Established in 1918 • Governed by Board of Water Commissioners (not the City and County of Denver) • Serve 1.4 million people (25% of state’s population) using less than 2% of water used in the state. • Total watershed area: 4,000 square miles (State’s third largest public landowner)

3. Issues facing Colorado’s water supply • Growth • Crisis on the Colorado River • Climate change

4. Growth

5. Water distribution in Colorado West toward Gulf of California 9,097,000 Acre Feet East toward Gulf of Mexico 1,337,000 Acre Feet

6. Crisis in the Colorado River System • Travels 1450 miles through 7 states and Mexico to the Sea of Cortez • Supplies water to 40 million people and 5.5 million acres of agriculture in the Upper Basin (Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming), the Lower Basin (Arizona, California, Nevada), and Mexico • The system relies on two large regulating reservoirs:  • Lake Powell - Upper Basin • Lake Mead - Lower Basin

7. Long-term system imbalance U.S. Department of the Interior-Bureau of Reclamation

8. Climate change

9. Integrated Resource PlanFocal Question How can we best prepare our water system and enhance our resources to meet our customers’ water needs as future challenges and opportunities arise?

10. Scenario Planning The Cone of Uncertainty A Near-termstrategy D E Today B C Decision points 2050 In 2008, we changed the way we think about the future

11. Collaboration • The Colorado River Cooperative Agreement (CRCA) • WISE • Forests to Faucets • Colorado River System Conservation Program 2014 CRCA Event in Summit County

12. Discussion