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Water Security Remains High Priority for Douglas County Residents
More Than Three Out of Four Residents Want the County to Centrally Coordinate Water Issues
Douglas County released its annualcitizen survey last week and, as in past years, a vast majority of county residents identified water security as a high priority. County residents have clearly spoken, and we want county leaders to take a more active role in centrally coordinating water issues.
The survey, conducted in mid-March, showed that 73 percent of residents said that ensuring “an adequate water supply that meets the long-term needs of county residents,” should be a high priority for Douglas County government.
And a slightly greater majority – 77 percent – agreed with the statement that “Douglas County should centrally coordinate many water issues now administered by multiple water districts.” This clearly shows that our residents want county leadership to take a county-wide view of current water supplies, and future water needs.
The survey offered a menu of possible tactics to address growing water needs including building more surface water capacity, acquiring more water, stepping up conservation and reducing the county’s reliance on the non-renewable underground aquifer.
Nearly half of those surveyed indicated support for all or a combination of those tactics.
Concerns about water have been a perennial top priority in the county’s citizen surveys. It’s good news that once again area residents are dialed into the need for long-range water policy to be a focus for county government.
It’s even better news that we want to see action with leaders stepping into the issue that currently has a fractured focus among area providers.
If anybody was looking for a mandate on water security, Douglas County residents are sending a green light.
Senators to tour Colorado River as water negotiations reach critical juncture
A bipartisan delegation of Western senators and federal officials will tour key points along the Colorado River next week to see the nation’s depleted reservoirs and the basin’s vast water infrastructure.
… Bennet will be joined by fellow Colorado Democrat Sen. John Hickenlooper, as well as Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming. The four senators will travel from the Upper Colorado River Basin to the Lower Basin in Arizona and Nevada.
… Bennet told CNN he hopes the trip will help spur collaboration between senators and state officials as their negotiations on water cuts reach an important juncture.
“I believe very strongly these water issues are best decided at the state level,” Bennet told CNN. “The Western senators can play an important role in trying to backstop the consensus the states can come to. This is a real crisis for the American west and potentially for our future.”
Two pumped water storage projects move forward in Colorado
Two proposed pumped water storage projects that could expand Colorado’s ability to store renewable energy – one in Fremont County and another between Hayden and Craig in the Yampa River Valley – are moving forward.
…Very few projects have made it that far since the turn of the millennium. It’s a pretty big deal,” Shapiro (a principal in green energy company Gridflex Energy) said.
Did you know? Colorado lawmakers joined six other states this month in agreeing to label widely used disposable wipes, warning consumers that they should not be flushed. With the backing of bipartisan sponsors, including democratic Sen. Dylan Roberts, as well as republican Sen. Perry Will, the bill received final approval in the house this month and is awaiting signature by Gov. Polis.
The bill, SB23-150, is welcome news to water and sanitation districts in the state, who have had to find ways to combat the clogs that the wipes create in sanitation systems. Eagle River Water and Sanitation District was among those advocating for the bill in an effort to protect their wastewater treatment systems.
