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As County leaders, we must protect our region. Our quality of life is directly connected to our commitment to build a tomorrow that preserves the best of today. This vision includes protecting our natural resources, utilizing our county’s resources in a fiscally-smart manner, and wisely planning for our future. Thank you for standing with us.
Douglas County's Water Plan Is Moving Forward
The process of developing a county-wide water plan, which many Colorado counties and municipalities have put in place, is making long-awaited progress.
When completed, the plan will be a vital tool for Douglas County’s economic development efforts going forward.
As the challenges in the West surrounding water supplies have worsened, the concept of completing a transparent and verifiable inventory of water resources (and overlaying that data with county growth projections) seems more logical by the week.
Once the inventory is complete, the Douglas County Water Commission, in concert with the County Commissioners, can determine what future water resources are needed into the future.
Looking back, the overheated objections to even the concept of the water plan can be shown to be based more on petty personal politics than sound public policy.
First, the contention of naysayers was that the county needed no water plan at all.
When that didn’t work, they said the county should just trust (but not verify) the assertions of the several water providers that serve part – not all – of Douglas County.
Then, they tried to have people who vehemently opposed the Commission – appointed as members with the sole objective of delaying or needlessly complicating its work.
None of this was constructive nor was it rooted in the best interests of Douglas County, its residents or businesses.
Credit goes to Commissioners George Teal and Abe Laydon for pushing hard for the water plan and for newly elected Commissioner Kevin Van Winkle for embracing it.
It’s a victory for common sense – and responsible, forward-looking leadership.
Recent Headlines
Will Colorado Springs’ growth come at the cost of livelihoods on the Eastern Plains?
The Lower Arkansas Valley Water Conservancy District stepped up its fight against a massive Colorado Springs annexation, citing concerns that water from farms in southeastern Colorado would be used to supply 6,500 new homes and businesses to support them.
The district, which serves Pueblo, Crowley, Bent, Otero and Prowers counties, passed a resolution outlining the threats its communities face when Colorado Springs expands.
…The city faces a water gap, the district said. If it did choose to fully develop within its boundaries, it would be short 34,000 acre-feet, or about 11 billion gallons of water, the district said. One acre-foot roughly equals the annual use of two to three households.
The Karman Line development will add about 1,670 acre-feet of water per year to the city’s water supply gap, the district said.
Colorado pledges to play nice as Nebraska plows ahead on $628M canal at the state line
Though details remain sparse on the new South Platte River project, local water users say, for now, the cornhuskers are entitled to their fair share of the river
Nebraska is moving quickly to build a major canal that will take water from the drought-strapped South Platte River on Colorado’s northeastern plains, and deliver it to new storage reservoirs in western Nebraska.
...With $628 million in cash from its state legislature, Nebraska has begun early design work and is holding public meetings outlining potential routes for the canal and reservoirs, according to Jesse Bradley, assistant director of the Nebraska Department of Natural Resources. At least one Colorado land purchase has been made.
Nebraska intends to complete design and start construction bidding in three years, and finish the project seven to nine years later, Bradley said.
...Colorado has a history of working with Nebraska on other water issues, including the successful negotiation of the South Platte River Compact and the settlement of a lawsuit involving the Republican River and Kansas.
Still, Colorado water regulators say they will carefully monitor the project and plan to meet regularly with Nebraska’s team.
Water projects inside Colorado are subject to in-depth reviews in special water courts, but the Perkins Canal Project, as it is known, is governed by the federal compact, and won’t necessarily be subject to that process, officials said.
Trump administration’s funding, staff cuts spark concerns over Colorado River
Policymakers warn that a loss of funds and Bureau of Reclamation employees could disrupt programs important for sustaining the drought-strained river — and complicate the negotiations that will steer its course for years to come.
“The level of uncertainty is greater than it’s ever been, and the challenges are greater than they’ve ever been,” Tom Buschatzke, Arizona’s lead Colorado River negotiator, told The Hill.
The Trump administration’s day-one pause on certain disbursements from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which earmarked $4 billion for water management in the region, is raising particular concern among stakeholders about the fate of key conservation projects that keep the Colorado River flowing.
Earlier this week, Senate Democrats from the region’s Lower Basin states — California, Nevada and Arizona — urged the Department of the Interior to end the freeze, arguing that the disappearance of these funds could endanger the river’s water supply.
