The legislative interim has been anything but slow. There are so many interim committee meetings that many legislators have commented that they look forward to the start of the next session so the schedules will slow down! That’s been my experience, too, as I’ve been kept moving nearly constantly, sitting on four committees and chairing two of those.
The most active committee has been the water resources review committee that I chair this year. We are handling our usual workload of studying water issues of importance around the state and we’re holding nine public meetings around the state on the proposed state water plan. The water plan meetings have been another opportunity for the general public to learn about what is being proposed and to provide their comments on the second plan draft.
We’ve heard consistently on our water tours that there’s a need for greater storage in Colorado, especially along the Front Range. We’ve met with farmers in the Montrose area of the Gunnison River Basin and in the San Luis Valley who are trying out innovative ways to improve water use efficiency in agricultural production. These methods range from changing the type of crop grown to decreasing the amount of irrigation water lost to evaporation.
In the Upper Arkansas Valley, near the towns of Salida and Buena Vista, local water advocates explained how they are maximizing recreational uses such as rafting and fishing while planning for new growth in their area at the same time as they send a large portion of the river downstream to Pueblo and the Lower Arkansas Valley to water the southeastern Colorado plains.
We visited Winter Park and Granby, two Western Slope communities in Grand County, who referred to themselves as “ground zero” for Colorado’s transmountain diversions. They explained how they struggle already to meet their towns’ water needs while satisfying the water rights of Denver and other northern Colorado cities through a complex system of tunnels and diversions. Agriculture is still a way of life for some in this area of the state, but, as is true around our state, the availability of water is essential for their operations.
The legislative water committee has one more tour of communities to visit seeking input on the water plan. This will include a trip to Walden, in a beautiful, high elevation part of the state that sends its waters north to Wyoming, to Greely, part of the South Platte River basin and an agricultural and oil and gas production powerhouse. And, finally, a public hearing in Aurora, the quickly expanding urban center east of Denver. Water conservation and water reuse, as well as a desire for domestic rainwater collection, continue to be themes we hear in both rural and urban parts of Colorado.
The committee’s visit to Durango took place before the Gold King Mine spill occurred, but no one missed the impact of that spill. There is considerable concern about future spills, not only in the Animas, but also in other rivers around the state. Close inspection of Colorado’s state seal shows the importance of mining since our state’s founding in 1876, but the watershed impacts are showing themselves as something not for the history books alone. How to address these challenges must be included in the state’s water plan, too.
Ellen Roberts represents Senate District 6 in Colorado’s General Assembly. The district encompasses Montezuma, Dolores, La Plata, Archuleta, Montrose, San Miguel, San Juan and Ouray counties. Contact Sen. Roberts by phone at (303) 866-4884, or by e-mail ellen.roberts.senate@state.co.us.
