67D08993D0AE7F66872588A80073E359 Hearing Summary

Evan Thomas, University of Colorado, Boulder, introduced the presentation and gave background on the topic.  He distributed the full report to the committee, which can be found here: https://leg.colorado.gov/content/iwrarc2022ascheduleandmeetingmaterials.  He told the committee about House Bill 21-1268, which authorized the University of Colorado and Colorado State University to conduct a feasibility study on new water management technologies.

Kat Demaree, University of Colorado, Boulder, gave an overview of the methodology of the study, which included stakeholder interviews across the state. She told the committee about the gaps that were identified through the conversations they had.

Melanie Holland, University of Colorado, Boulder, discussed the survey results and how people responded to questions about challenges in the monitoring and management of Colorado water.

Ms. Demaree spoke about the different case studies that were looked at during their research, including stratospheric monitoring capabilities for watershed management.

Amy Kremen, University of Colorado, Boulder, told the committee about the challenges associated with implementing new technologies in water management. She discussed the current Colorado Master Irrigator class that currently exists, which is a water management training course anyone can take.

Ms. Kremen spoke about the Testing Ag Performance Solutions Program, which is a farm management competition and learning experience for farmers.

Ms. Kremen discussed the different pilot projects that Colorado State University is working on to help with water management.

The panelists answered questions about how the funding would be distributed and the effectiveness of the different programs that were discussed.