By DYLAN ROBERTS
State Senator
We all know that out here in Western Colorado, water is life. It sustains our agriculture, powers our outdoor recreation economy, and is the keystone of the beautiful environment we all cherish.
All of us also know that our state’s water future faces immense challenges; from ongoing megadrought in the West, overuse of the Colorado River by California and Arizona, and much more. Even as we celebrate last winter’s snowfall, an above-average rainfall this summer, and hope for more good snow this coming winter, our water resources and long-term future are still uncertain. That is why the state legislature, among other public and private entities, have been hard at work on a multi-faceted approach to protect Colorado’s water future.
The 2023 legislative session was one of the most productive and historic sessions for water in recent memory. As your State Senator, I made sure that water was at the forefront of my colleague’s minds and am proud to have led several successful water measures.
Increased funding
Addressing our water challenges will require considerable and sustained funding and this year, Colorado made funding for water more of a priority than ever before. First, every year Colorado passes a water projects funding bill which helps communities invest in updated infrastructure, conservation efforts, and funding the newly-updated Colorado Water Plan, among other priorities. I sponsored this year’s water projects bill and it was the largest amount of funding in Colorado history at $97 million. This means that more important projects will be funded in the coming year.
We also made sure our state is prepared for the serious interstate negotiations regarding the Colorado River that are ongoing have our full support and attention by increasing our funding in the state budget to make the Colorado River Commissioner a full-time position and expand crucial staff at the Colorado Water Conservation Board.
Expanding policy tools
Smart policy will also be essential as we confront challenges and we are working on expanding tools in Colorado water law to carefully address our state’s needs.
In 2022, I helped pass a bill that will help cities create and expand turf replacement programs to cut down on the use of water-intensive landscaping across the state, especially on the arid Front Range. That program launched in July and has already been incredibly successful as we look for ways to expand it.
This year, I worked with House Speaker Julie McCluskie and our Western Slope Republican colleagues Sen. Will and Rep. Catlin to pass a bill that created the Colorado River Drought Task Force. This task force has been hard at work all summer and fall carefully studying the current intrastate and interstate issues on the Colorado River and is set to deliver well-crafted policy proposals to the legislature by the end of the year. We are grateful for the expertise of the diverse group of stakeholders serving on the task force and urge them to be bold and decisive in their recommendations.
Another great victory for rivers and water this year was a bill I co-sponsored with Republican Senator Cleave Simpson that removed red-tape and administrative barriers to allow more stream restoration projects to go forward. Restoring streams and rivers helps improve water quality and aquatic life and has broad-sweeping positive impacts to watershed health, wildfire resiliency, and so much more.
More work to do
Water policy is complex, dynamic, and requires careful deliberation. The legislature’s Water Resources and Agriculture Review Committee, of which I have the honor of leading as Chair, is actively working during. Since the legislature adjourned in May, we have been taking the time to travel the state, visit with agriculture producers, water managers, city leaders, and many others as well as calling experts before our committee to testify and answer hard questions.
We are currently drafting several innovative policy ideas for the 2024 session based our work that would add tools to Colorado’s tool belt for protecting our water future. These ideas include prohibitions on nonfunctional, water-intensive turf, increased flexibility to allow farmers and ranchers to invest in water efficiency without risking their water rights, measures to improve water quality, and more.
We are also closely following the historic funding soon to be made available by the federal government thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the $4 billion that Senators Bennet and Hickenlooper helped secure to address drought in the West. Maximizing Colorado’s benefit from those available funds will be an important priority for us in the years ahead.
While our water challenges are serious, I am confident that our state is well-positioned as we head into the future. We will continue to do whatever we can to protect our state’s most important natural resource – the one that we need for our agriculture, our economy, our life – our water. As always, I encourage you to contact me on this issue or any other: [email protected] or my cell: 970-846-3054.
Dylan Roberts is the State Senator for Clear Creek, Eagle, Garfield, Gilpin, Grand, Jackson, Moffat, Rio Blanco, Routt, and Summit Counties
