Articles
April 1-5, 2024: Rio Grande Water Leaders Course
April 1-5, 2024 6:00 PM-9:00 PM Offering networking opportunities and lessons on San Luis Valley hydrology, history of Colorado water development, key court cases, water rights administration, water management, conservation, restoration, and more! Apply Here
Augmentation 101 Whiteboard Video
The Roundtable Education Committee with help from American Rivers has created a new educational video that seeks to demystify Augmentation and explain it's Importance as a water administration tool in Colorado.
New Video from the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership
CWCB & PEPO Outline Priorities for the Statewide Initiatives Fund
Public Education Outreach & Participation (PEPO) funding was recently expanded by the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) to include a “Statewide Initiatives” category. In creating the Statewide Initiatives category, the Water Plan serves as the main driver...
Collaborative partnership leads to shared successes for Platte River water users and species alike
Historical accounts often cite that the Platte River flowed a mile wide and a foot deep across the central plains of Nebraska. The channel was braided, shallow, wide, and mostly unvegetated. Spring runoff brought large flushes of sediment, forming sandbars in the...
Upper Culebra Watershed Assessment
The Upper Culebra Watershed Assessment is being completed to evaluate watershed conditions within the Culebra River basin and develop projects and strategies to address watershed health concerns. The assessment approach is based on community-identified areas of...
Addressing public safety at low head dams in Colorado
American Whitewater’s database of whitewater accidents and fatalities, maintained since 1972, documents that 10 percent of river fatalities nationwide are a result of individuals getting caught in a low head dam hydraulic. These dams are generally defined as man-made...
San Luis Valley Confined Aquifer Part 2: Myths and Realities
One of the most cussed and discussed concepts is whether there is a billion acre-feet, or two billion, or some other huge volume of groundwater contained in the aquifers of the Valley. We still see these numbers being cited by some people as justification for new...
The San Luis Valley Confined Aquifer Part 1: How Does It Work?
Let’s take a close look at the San Luis Valley’s confined aquifer. What is the reality? Does confined aquifer water, deeply buried and out of sight under much of the Valley, have any connection to the unconfined aquifer or to surface streams? How is water recharged...
Access and safety improvements are a boon for boaters in the Rio Grande Basin
Summer is here and people are getting out on the water in Colorado’s Rio Grande Basin. The Basin’s lakes, reservoirs, rivers, and other water bodies offer excellent boating, fishing, and other recreation opportunities for the public to enjoy. The Rio Grande mainstem...
The Water Puzzle: Yampa River Edition
Puzzles are a team effort: someone studies the picture, someone finds the edge pieces, and others look for certain colors. Then, the assembly begins. Finishing the puzzle is gratifying, but even better are the moments when you finally find that one piece that you’ve...
The Water Puzzle: About the Winter Flow Program
In my family, the holiday season usually involves a healthy dose of puzzle time. Mom rummages through the garage and breaks out the ancient folding card table that still smells like Grandma’s basement and sets it up close to the fireplace and football games. From...
Irrigation and Water Use in the Republican River Basin
The Republican River Basin is located in the northeast corner of the state of Colorado, and extends into the Southwest corner of Nebraska and the Northwest corner of Kansas. This basin consists either entirely or partially of Logan, Sedgwick, Phillips, Washington,...
Upper Gunnison Basin Tools for Generating Water, Forecasting Streamflow and Weather Monitoring
I don’t have to tell water users in the Rio Grande basin that the source of fuel for the economic engine that supports many small rural communities in Colorado is WATER. That goes for the Upper Gunnison River Basin as well. Contrary to what many visitors and even...
Governor Polis and Water Education Colorado Launch Water ’22 Initiative to Implore Coloradans to Conserve and Protect Water Amidst Historic Drought, Fires
DENVER – (Jan. 26, 2022) – Today, just less than a month after one of Colorado’s most destructive fires caused in part by drought, Governor Polis and Water Education Colorado launched Water ’22, a statewide, year-long initiative that implores Coloradans to take an...
The Application of Augmentation Plans in the San Luis Valley
Water in the San Luis Valley has long been a challenging and at times divisive subject, as its management is difficult. Over appropriation is the key cause, meaning there are more water rights than there is actual water. Water users want to use all of the water they...
Colorado Issues Becoming Clearer in Compact Case
While Colorado remains largely an observer in the ongoing federal court case over the Rio Grande Compact, the issues that could increase its involvement have become clearer since Texas filed its initial complaint eight years ago.
Colorado Division of Water Resources Division 3 Well Rules & Regulations Now in Force
Non-exempt well rules and regulations approved by Water Division 3 Water Judge Pattie Swift are now in effect for Colorado Division of Water Resources’ Division 3. These well rules and regulations apply to all non-exempt well users in the San Luis Valley, a total of...
Rio Grande Basin to Assist in Colorado Water Plan Update
In 2015, then-Governor John Hickenlooper signed a momentous document into being – the Colorado Water Plan. At the time, decades of analysis concluded that a gap was widening between the limited supply of water and an increasing demand from users. This gap in water...
Water: The New Normal
The Western United States has long considered its mountains, a hedge against drought and water shortage. Yet citizens in these areas are faced with accepting a new moisture norm. Many western communities have seen water supplies shrink, temperatures rise and...
An Overview of the Colorado Water Plan
By Judy Lopez In Colorado it is a given that “the Gap” is widening between water supply and demand. In May of 2013, Governor Hickenlooper issued an executive order that directed the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) to develop Colorado’s Water Plan. The CWCB...
Understanding the Rio Grande Basin Water Plan
Since the 2002-2003 drought, the Colorado Water Conservation Board has undertaken a comprehensive study of Colorado’s water. The study known as the Statewide Water Supply Initiative (SWSI) 2010 recognized that water supply is limited and as Colorado continues to grow...
Rio Grande Roundtable Basin Implementation Plan
This is the first of monthly articles from the Rio Grande Basin Roundtable, regarding the implementation of the Basin Water Plan. Since the 2002-2003 drought, the Colorado Water Conservation Board has undertaken a comprehensive study of Colorado’s water. The study...
Basin Goals and Measurable Outcomes
To develop the Rio Grande Basin Plan the Basin Plan’s Steering Committee and subcommittees identified 14 goals for the Plan. These goals focus on the most important issues confronting the Basin and strive to achieve long-term sustainability in water supplies and uses....
The Rio Grande Basin Water Plan Addresses Water Needs
Colorado’s population surpassed 5 million people in the summer of 2008, and it is expected to double to 10 million people by 2050. The majority of the growth will be on Colorado’s Front Range, but the fastest growth rates will occur on the Western Slope. The...
The Rio Grande Basin Water Plan Works to Address Future Ag Water Needs
For decades Agriculture has been associated with the production of food crops. Accordingly, agriculture and farming were both one and the same, as long as farming was not commercialized. But as time has progressed and economic development has accelerated, there have...
Introduction to the Rio Grande Basin Implementation Plan
This article is an excerpt from the Rio Grande Basin Plan Executive Summary and serves as the culmination of many hours work from the Rio Grande Basin Roundtable members and many Upper Rio Grande Basin citizens, Non-government Organizations and Agencies. Part One: The...
The Subdistrict Process Moves Forward
By Helen Smith Water history has been made in the San Luis Valley. Subdistrict number two has officially been approved by the Rio Grande County District Court. The hearing to determine the status of Subdistrict 2 took place on Feb. 23rd at the Rio Grande County...
Reservoirs in the San Luis Valley
By Travis Smith Colorado's history is written in water. Colorado's water history also involves the development of reservoirs. It was quickly recognized by irrigators and municipal users that having the ability to capture and control available water during times of...
River Restoration Provides Many Returns to the SLV
By Emma Reesor, Rio Grande Headwaters Restoration Project Rivers are the lifeblood of the San Luis Valley. The Rio Grande and its many tributaries transport snowmelt and rainfall from the mountains through the arid valley floor, supplying water for agriculture,...
Public Lands, Public Water
By Paul Tigan, Assistant Field Manager, San Luis Valley Field Office, BLM When thinking of the Bureau of Land Management, or BLM, what comes to mind? Is it livestock ranching? Oil and gas development? Maybe its rock climbing at Penitente Canyon, or watching wildlife...
Working Together to Plan for Our Water Future
By Kevin Terry For our water resources to meet a variety of needs—from agriculture and municipal uses to wildlife habitat and recreation—collaboration is essential. That’s what the Basin Implementation Plan is all about. Here’s how to get involved. The collaborative...
Why Do Soils Matter?
By Francine Lheritier, Soil Scientist, USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service “Most people don’t realize that just beneath our feet lies a diverse, complex, life-giving ecosystem that sustains our entire existence,” said Jason Weller, Chief of USDA’s Natural...
The Power of Pollinators
By Susan Welch Susan Welch is a small acreage beekeeper in northern Colorado Research over the last few decades has helped farmers/ranchers make great strides when it comes to the quantity and quality of food and fiber that is produced in the United States. The amount...
Conserving Land and Water: A Long-Term Tool
By Rio de la Vista With Colorado’s growing population and the severe drought which began in 2002, there continues to be intense pressure for land development and with that, pressure to convert more and more water from agriculture to other uses. In response to this,...
The Science of Conservation
The Dust Bowl of the 1930’s covered 300,000 square miles of territory located in Kansas, Texas, western Oklahoma, eastern Colorado, and New Mexico. With successive storms, the wind and the flying dust cut off wheat stalks at ground level and tore out the roots....