Welcome to SWCD…
The Southwestern Water Conservation District (SWCD) was created by the State of Colorado legislation through House Bill #795 which was approved by the General Assembly on April 16, 1941. The charter of the District is to protect, conserve, use and develop the water resources of the Southwestern basin for the welfare of the District, and to safeguard for Colorado all waters of the basin to which the state is entitled. It is one of four Conservation Districts in the state. (Read More…)
Office Manager Vacancy
Southwestern Water Conservation District is accepting resumes for the position of Office Manager for the District’s operations. This is a full-time position in the Durango District Office. Applications/resumes must be received by mail no later than July 5th, 2013. (Read more…)
Public Trust Initiatives
In 2012, Initiatives #3 and #45 were submitted and Titles approved to be placed on the ballot, if enough signatures could be obtained. The proponents did not gather enough signatures and therefore the initiatives were not on the ballot in 2012. They have promised to continue to pursue the public trust ballot measure, possibly for the next election. …What is a Public Trust Doctrine? Simply put, the public trust doctrine is the principle that certain resources are preserved for public use, and that the government is required to preserve them for the public’s reasonable use. Sounds good on the surface, but what would the actual consequences be if the measures were passed? As a scarce natural resource, Colorado’s water relies on a system of allocation, called prior appropriation, which has successfully allocated the State’s water for nearly 150 years. Public Trust initiatives would overturn this system, and result in dramatic reallocation of public and private, human and financial resources.
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Go to the Colorado Water Congress website at cowatercongress.org for more information on Public Trust
SWCD Board Meetings
All meetings are open to the public. Regular Board of Director Meetings are in February, March, June, August, October, and December. In addition to regular board meetings, the Board meets via teleconference every other week during the Colorado Legislative Year (mid January – mid May) to review water-related legislation.
For a meeting schedule, click here.
Programs
Southwestern Water Conservation District actively supports water related projects and programs throughout the District’s 9 counties. Ongoing support is given to organizations whose work greatly impacts our water resources. For information on our programs and funding opportunities, please click here.
Resources
Looking for information on local and state water resources? Visit our Resource section for useful links.
