Colorado water issues cannot be solved without addressing the fundamental link between water and land use. If we are to solve the overuse of the Colorado River, our communities will require the development of new policies that link land use and water.
Our cities and counties make land-use decisions and growth policies locally. State and federal agencies oversee water policy that impacts the Colorado River. Officials recommended water cuts of 2.4 million to 3.4 million acre-feet or 22% to 29% of our total water consumption to save our dwindling reservoirs.
Colorado grew 14.8% between 2010 and 2020. Seven states overused water for 16 out of 21 years, between 2000 and 2020. Local communities continue to approve new land projects while the Colorado River remains in crisis.
Colorado’s current annual growth rate is 5.8%, surpassing the overall U.S. growth rate of 2.6%. Colorado’s population stood at 939,629 in 1920, compared with 5,773,714 in 2020, and is projected to be 8.7 million by 2050.
The increase in water to support growth will come from depleted rivers and fallowing agricultural land through buy-and-dry policies. Our rapid growth and the water crisis are like watching a slow-moving train inching toward derailment.
When our team of experts began Colorado’s Water Plan for the Colorado Basin in 2014, we prioritized listening to citizens. We traveled hundreds of miles to meet with service clubs, city and county officials, colleges and high schools, watershed and recreational organizations, and water attorneys. Citizens’ common-sense insight guided our efforts.
Each unique county faced different water challenges, from headwaters to the state line. Six overlapping themes emerged.
Citizen priorities included:
* Safe drinking water
* Sustainable agriculture
* Healthy rivers
* A high level of basin-wide conservation
* Dependable basin-water administration
However, the sixth theme that came from the public is of utmost importance in developing local water-conscious land-use strategies. Our communities can make a difference by enacting intelligent land-use policies that conserve water.
Even in 2015, many leaders and citizens who initially supported growth policies were weary of the strains and results of ever-higher growth rates. Yet the water community steered clear of that hot-button issue.
Many other factors are contributing to increased growth and water consumption. Two examples include the Vail and Roaring Fork Valley’s development in Eagle County. In the late 1970s, the Vail Valley along the Eagle River consisted of the towns of Vail, Eagle and Gypsum, with prime agricultural land and open space in between. The valley has now grown to include Eagle/Vail, Avon, Beaver Creek, Edwards, Wolcott, Cordillera and Dotsero.
Colorado’s special district statute enabled sprawl where prime agricultural land existed in a rural county. Eagle County approved the formation of 13 water, sanitation and metropolitan districts to install community water and wastewater infrastructure. The result is 30 miles of sprawl along the I-70 corridor.
Is this progress or poor land-use decisions?
The same special district-fueled growth occurs between Aspen and Glenwood Springs in the Roaring Fork Valley. The best agricultural land in the state is gone. In its place, you can buy a 1,000-square-foot luxury fourth-floor loft in Basalt for $2 million and play golf on one of three new private golf courses with more than $200,000 initiation fees.
Closer to home, when I think of the north Animas River Valley, I am reminded of our history of special district-enabled growth and the disengagement of water from land use. Will the Hermosa Sanitation District and the Animas Water Company enable the same special district growth experienced in Eagle County?
If you ask a board member, the response may be that we have nothing to do with land use, and our land-use agency, La Plata County, is not involved in water issues.
Yes, there is a disconnect.
Remember, water will not be the limiting resource slowing down our growth. That limited resource is our ability to remain vigilant and demand smart growth in our communities in an era when the Colorado River is in crisis. It is time to have that hard conversation in all our cities, counties and special districts.
You are in charge!
Louis Meyer is a retired civil/water engineer engaged in Western Slope and statewide water issues for the past 45 years. He lives in the north Animas River Valley. In 2013, he was the lead author for Colorado’s Water Plan for the Colorado Basin.
