From The Pueblo Chieftain (Alan Hamel):

In the Arkansas Basin, we are well aware that water is an essential ingredient in what makes Colorado special. Here in our basin, on the Western Slope and along the Front Range, water is what supports Colorado’s productive farms and ranches, our thriving recreational industry, our beautiful environment, and our vibrant cities and industries.

Water also is in short supply. In the coming decades, there could be a gap between water supply and demand of a half a million acre-feet or more per year. The entire state is threatened by this scenario, and it is particularly threatening to Colorado’s rural communities. Unless we do something to manage our water future, more and more agricultural water will be bought to supply our growing cities, drying up hundreds of thousands of acres of productive farm and ranch land and jeopardizing the economy and livelihoods of rural Colorado.

Northeastern Colorado alone is expected to lose approximately 20 percent of agricultural land currently under production from purchase agreements already in place. Here, closer to home in the Arkansas Basin, it is projected that, without a plan of action, we could lose an additional 73,000 acres of our valued irrigated agricultural land. This would be devastating to our economy, our rural way of life, open space, wetlands and wildlife habitat. This water supply future is unacceptable. We must have a plan that provides a secure water future for all Coloradans.

In May of this year, the governor issued an executive order directing the Colorado Water Conservation Board to develop Colorado’s Water Plan. This is an unprecedented undertaking for Colorado, but fortunately much of the work that is needed to develop the plan is already done.

During the drought of 2002-03, the state commissioned the most comprehensive study ever done of Colorado’s current and future water demands and supplies — the Statewide Water Supply Initiative. The SWSI study is continually being updated so it includes the most current information available. In addition, in 2005 the state Legislature created nine Basin Roundtables, groups of water leaders in each major river basin that have been taking an in-depth look at their basin’s water challenges. It also created the Interbasin Compact Committee, a group of 27 water leaders representing every major river basin and water constituency, including two representatives from each roundtable. For the last several years, these groups have been engaged in thoughtful dialogue while working hard to understand Colorado’s water challenges and ways they could be addressed.

The CWCB, IBCC and Basin Roundtables have reached consensus on a variety of actions that will lead to a better water future, including support for alternatives to permanent buy-and-dry of agriculture, conservation, projects that meet certain criteria and more. Colorado’s Water Plan will not be a top-down plan full of state mandates and requirements. Instead, it will be built on the foundation of the work of the Basin Roundtables and the IBCC. That is a strong foundation.

To create the foundation, each basin roundtable is developing a water plan for its region. And this includes the Arkansas Basin. At the same time, the IBCC is developing no- and low-regrets strategies for meeting future water needs that could be applied statewide.

Because these efforts are underway, we don’t yet know all that Colorado’s Water Plan will include. What we do know is that Colorado’s Water Plan will be a balanced one and will reflect Colorado’s values.

The governor’s executive order specifies that Colorado’s Water Plan must promote “a productive economy that supports vibrant and sustainable cities, viable and productive agriculture, and a robust skiing, recreation and tourism industry; efficient and effective water infrastructure promoting smart land use; and a strong environment that includes healthy watersheds, rivers and streams and wildlife.”

Utilizing the basin plans and the work of the IBCC, the CWCB will deliver a draft of Colorado’s Water Plan to the governor’s office by Dec. 10, 2014.

The CWCB will then work with the governor’s office to finalize Colorado’s Water Plan no later than December 2015.

To provide your insights and perspectives, participate in the next meeting of the Arkansas Basin Roundtable at 12:30 p.m. Nov. 13 at Colorado State University-Pueblo’s Occhiato Center.

To learn who the members of the roundtable are and other times when they meet, visit cwcb.state.co.us and go to the IBCC and Basin Roundtable link. You can also submit your comments to the CWCB by emailing cowaterplan@state.co.us.

For more information, visit Colorado’s Water Plan online at coloradowaterplan.com. A new website is planned for release on Nov. 1.

Alan Hamel is the Arkansas River Basin representative and chair of the Colorado Water Conservation Board.