How do I know? I know, because The Colorado Department ofNatural Resources and The Colorado Water Conservation Board tell me so. On page 229, table 6-2, of a 1,085 page report, aptly given the bureaucratic title, Statewide Water Supply Initiative and nick named, SWSI; it clearly points out that in 2030, the water gap, or amount of water we need and won't have, is 630,000 Acre Feet. If you are talking to water experts be warned to just say "SWAAZEEE," and then they will know what you are talking about.

What's this deficit look like? Well, it's like having approximately a thousand miles of land with one foot of water on it. It's also 205,286,130,000 gallons. Imagine 205,286,130,000 gallon milk cartons stacked in The Broncos Mile High Stadium?

That's the answer to what we will be missing. But the question is: what can we do about it?

We could do four things:

1. Start a Reuse campaign where we install tanks in our basements to catch the water from our showers and sinks to then send it back to flush our toilets. Where is it written that we should flush with drinking water? We could save 12,000 to 20,000 gallons a year per house by doing that. But that's illegal under our 1880's water laws which carry over from the old mining days.

2. Start catching water in barrels to water our lawns and ball fields. We could also use some of that Reuse water for this purpose and save upwards of 40% of our water. But that's illegal under our 1880's water law.

3. Start conserving more water in the area that uses most of the water. Irrigation for Agriculture uses anywhere from 80% to 90% of all the water consumed in the WEST. So, let's ask the farmers and ranchers to save every drop. But, they can't do that. If they don't use all of their appropriated water rights each year they will loose their water rights in water court. So, the 1880's water laws encourage waste and discourage conservation.

4. Start to build a dam to catch some water in a reservoir. Before we begin, we need a lot of dialogue, and we should have a name or an acronym for our project. How about calling it, S.P.I.T.?, the Strategic Planning Initiative To build a dam. Meetings should be held all over Colorado to get citizen input, comments from Trout Unlimited, The Sierra Club, Farmers, Ranchers, Water Utilities, and etc. We could start in Grand Junction, with committee reports finalized by 2008. Then, we can repeat the process in Durango in 2009, in Steamboat in 2010, in Ft Collins in 2011, in Pueblo in both 2012 and 2013 (two years there, as Senator Salazar requested an additional study) in Yuma in 2014, and in Lamar in 2015. Since it takes about 8 years to do the EPA EIS- Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Impact Study; we could begin construction by 2023. It takes five years to build a dam and five more to fill it; so, we can happily look forward to available water by 2033. I have no solution for the three years that we are out of water. If you suggest changing a few laws, as the New Yorkers say, Forrrgetttabbboutiiitt. We have more water lawyers in Colorado than any other state. Feature them killing the golden goose. Must go now. Am off to a governor's conference on renewable energy. You know about renewable conferences. They are great photo ops, super crowd pleasers, and besides those ethanol plants, solar panels, and windmills are all great for drinking during drought years. Stay tuned.

Jack Flobeck, Chairman, Aqua Prima Center Inc.

the world's only "think tank" solely for water research and conservation

colojackf@msn.com