The snowpack provides a skier's wonderland in winter and spring and a fishing and boating paradise during summer and fall. The rushing waters grind rocks which deposit over a millennia and become alluvial aquifers that enable additional water management possibilities. To manage this gift is our challenge. The Institute's part is to provide the funds and research organization needed by creative scientists and teams as they seek to bring insight and new facts to aid in water management. This publication describes some of the achievements of that quarter century and the challenges that lie ahead.
Water is very important to Colorado.
Because of its fickle climate, the state is subject to drought. This brochure was prepared to explain why this subject is important, where Colorado's water comes from, how it is managed, and what Colorado is doing to best deal with drought. The year of 1990 will be remembered by many in the southern United States as a record year for extreme rainfall and disastrous flooding events. People in Alabama and Georgia recall the floods of 1929 and 1961 as almost as significant. The year 1990 is significant because rarely, if ever, have devastating rainfall and runoff events occupied so many people in so many states across our country for so long a time period.