848B0716C0CF9F708725877B005A3328 Hearing Summary

PUBLIC
BILL SUMMARY For WATER PLAN UPDATE

INTERIM COMMITTEE WATER RESOURCES REVIEW COMMITTEE
Date Oct 27, 2021
Location SCR 357

Water Plan Update - Committee Discussion Only

Attachment Tag

File Name

Attachment C

Attachment C.pdf

10:25:15 AM

Lauren Ris, Deputy
Director, Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB), introduced the presentation
on the Colorado Water Plan (Attachment C). She reviewed the background
and mission of CWCB. She discussed how CWCB implements the Colorado
Water Plan.

10:27:57 AM

Russ Sands, Section
Chief of Water Supply Planning, CWCB, discussed how the Colorado Water
Plan (the plan) was created and how different groups contributed to the
creation of it. He spoke about the individual Basin Implementation
Plans that make up the plan and where they are at in the planning process.
He continued to speak about the goals and focal areas of the plan,
including vibrant communities, robust agriculture, thriving watersheds,
and resilient planning.

10:34:07 AM

He told the committee that the next draft of the plan should be released in June 2022. He spoke about the timeline that is set forth in statute for creating the plan.

10:40:48 AM

Mr. Sands spoke about the upcoming "Year of Water" in 2022 and what his team will be doing over the next year to increase awareness of hte plan.

10:45:03 AM

The committee made comments and asked about community engagement. Ms. Ris spoke about their plans to speak to individuals in the communities. She sought the committees comments about how they could do a better job at reaching their individual communities. Mr. Sands discussed how they are working to bring more people into discussions.

10:55:50 AM

The committee made
comments and asked about the role of the state government in the creation
of the plan. Mr. Sands told the committee about how they are tracking
the steps the legislature has put in place that his team has had to meet.
Ms. Ris spoke about the grant programs that have been created allowing
for the implementation of the plan.

10:59:12 AM

The committee asked about how the plan has been impacted by old federal water projects in the state. Ms. Ris said they have not looked back at old projects from the original water plan.

11:03:22 AM

The committee made comments about the importance of the plan and water users' reliance on CWCB and the State Engineer. Members made comments about the potential to include information about projects that have not been completed in the plan with the expectation that more federal dollars can be put towards water projects. Mr. Sands told the committee that they have something like this available to the public currently, but it is still being updated.

Water Plan Update - Committee Discussion Only

Colorado General Assembly