WATER
Our Perspective
Colorado is the only state in the nation where all surface water originates from within state boundaries. The headwaters of the Colorado River form on the west side of the Continental Divide in the mountains of Colorado’s Rocky Mountain National Park. Colorado’s 5.7 million residents, together with the tens of millions more residents of the six other states party to the Colorado River Compact, are increasingly aware of how drought, climate change, and wildfires have negatively impacted supply, while demand for water continues to grow.
The Colorado Forum recognizes the tension inherent in the fact that the growing population centers of the Colorado Front Range rely on distant Western Slope water and large-scale engineered water projects. While Front Range water providers hold long-established legal rights to this water, the resulting impacts are acutely felt by residents, agricultural producers, and communities across the fifteen Western Slope counties that comprise the Colorado River Conservation District.
Beyond these intrastate challenges, Colorado also faces mounting interstate pressures. As an Upper Basin state under the 1922 Colorado River Compact, Colorado is legally obligated to deliver water to downstream states. Prolonged drought and declining reservoir levels have pushed the entire Colorado River system into crisis, triggering unprecedented negotiations among the seven Basin states. An adverse outcome in negotiations could significantly reduce the amount of water Colorado is able to retain for municipal, agricultural, environmental, recreational, and economic uses. The Colorado Forum’s goal is to help the State allocate water for maximum productive use while protecting Colorado’s agricultural heritage, natural landscapes, tourism economy, and long-term prosperity.
Our Work
For many years, the Forum’s primary focus was the resolution of Native American water rights issues in the San Juan Basin through the federally sponsored, state-supported Animas La Plata water project. The Forum was a tenacious advocate for this project, which is now completed and serves an important purpose in the San Juan Basin.
The Forum provided input to the Governor and supported the creation of Colorado’s first State Water Plan in 2015. From 2017 through 2020, the Forum was actively engaged with the For the Love of Colorado coalition of stakeholders working to ensure full funding of the Water Plan. Since that time, the Forum has worked with a broad coalition of stakeholders to ensure the Water Plan’s full implementation.
The Forum regularly engages with federal agencies, state leaders, legislators, water providers, agricultural producers, recreational interests, and environmental organizations to monitor evolving legal and hydrologic challenges facing Colorado’s water future. At times, Forum members are asked to share their expertise and provide strategic guidance to policymakers and stakeholders navigating these complex issues.
Most recently, at the request of key parties, Forum members played a convening and moderating role in helping lay the groundwork for a non-litigious outcome surrounding Public Service Company of Colorado’s sale of the Shoshone Power Plant and its senior water rights to the Colorado River Conservation District.
Trusted as an honest broker, the Colorado Forum remains committed to ensuring that Colorado’s future is defined by clear, clean, and reliably managed water resources.