Hi! Welcome to our 2024 Summer Nine Basin Bulletin. We're transitioning to a new platform for our newsletter; we aim to make an easy switch, but please contact Monika Rock via email - morock@swwcd.org - if you have any technical issues accessing the Newsletter. We hope your summer is off to a great start, and we are excited to share upcoming water events, news, legislation, and other water happenings! The Nine Basins Bulletin is the newsletter from the Southwestern Water Conservation District (SWCD) and the Water Information Program (WIP).

Upcoming Water Events

SWCD Events

Regular Board Meeting 08/07/24 - 08/08/24 - Pagosa Springs & Remote

Special  Board Meeting - Budget Workshop 09/12/24 - To be determined 

Other Events 

Southwest Basin Roundtable Meeting - Cortez, CO 07/25/24 - more information can be found here

Colorado Water Congress Summer Conference - 08/20/24 - 08/22/24 -more information can be found here

WEco's President's Reception Denver, CO- 09/05/24 - more information can be found here

C9 Summit - Crested Butte, CO 10/01/24-10/02/24 - more information can be found here

Southwest Basin Roundtable Meeting - Durango, CO 10/24/24 -  more information can be found here

Water Week at Fort Lewis College - 10/20/24-10/25/24 - more information coming soon

News

SWCD Summer Announcements  

In June, SWCD held its third regular board meeting of 2024. At the meeting, the board discussed their 2025 grant program, their water conservation and infrastructure partnership, state and federal legislation, an Emergency Grant request from Farmers Water Development Company, and other topics. Please see the full agenda on our website.

News articles that piqued our interest

In the Basin

• Code Changes introduced to town council: Telluride Town Council gives first approval on updating regulations - Telluride Daily Planet 06/29/2024
• Montezuma Water breaks ground for water treatment plant expansion - The Journal 07/03/2024
• Water boards approve grazing, sand and gravel leases for Running Iron Ranch - The Pagosa Springs Sun  07/03/2024
• 'We can't afford this': Cortez residents speak out against high water rates - The Journal 07/11/2024
• Southern Ute Indian Tribes sues Colorado governor, gaming division over sports betting The Colorado Sun 07/11/2024

From the State

• A beloved Colorado mountain pond has been reduced to mud. Is a luxury developer at fault? The Denver Post 07/08/2024 
• Clean-water advocates head back to court over Colorado Factory Farms Public News Service 07/08/2024
• Rio Grande fish dodge endangered list but could still lose third of population in next decade The Colorado Sun 07/08/2024

Other

• Arizona introduces $5 billion tribal water rights legislation KJCT 07/09/2024
• Colorado River water rights sale by private company might set a dangerous precedent: 'We've opened Pandoa's box' - The Cool Down - 07/11/2024

Water Information Program Update

Forest-to-Faucets Teacher Training 

Each year, the Water Information Program, Mountain Studies Institute, and the San Juan Mountain Association host a two-day, hands-on exploration of our local watersheds for teachers. The curriculum guide is based on the children’s book “My Water Comes from the San Juan Mountains,” designed for local teachers to instruct their students about where water comes from—because it doesn't just come from the faucet.

The workshop took place on June 12 – 13, 2024, at the Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District (PAWSD) office as our base and included field trips to explore the Upper San Juan River watershed with a focus on the ties between forest health and water quality.

Over the course of a two-day workshop, teachers visited the San Juan Overlook parking area on Highway 160 to meet with Adam Tlachac, the timber manager of the San Juan National Forest. They learned about forest health management and the role of wildfires in water quality. They also observed demonstrations of water-based field trip activities designed for place-based and project-based learning with their students.

Educators engaged in various class activities covering the water cycle, non-point source pollution, their local watershed, and the health of the river through studying benthic macroinvertebrates. They met with experts from the San Juan National Forest to learn about the impacts of fire on the watershed and heard from Lisa Yellow Eagle, a Tribal Water Attorney with the Southern Ute Indian Tribe, about Tribal Water Rights and Stewardship. Additionally, they traced the journey of water from the San Juan River through the water treatment and wastewater treatment processes with guidance from the Pagosa Area Water Sanitation District (PAWSD) staff. These experiences aimed to familiarize the teachers with National Forest and PAWSD professionals, helping them to organize future field trips that educate students about the natural and municipal water cycles.

The 2024 workshop was made possible through generous support from the Colorado Water Conservation Board and the Water Information Program.

This was a wonderful way to get teachers outdoors and find out about the resources available to them for field trips and place-based education and activities that address Colorado State Standards. And a great way to network with other teachers!

Children's Water Festival 

Each year, 700 to 900 fifth-grade students from across the Southwestern Water District's boundaries, spanning the Dolores River to the San Juan River basins, gather at Fort Lewis College in Durango, CO, for a day of learning at the Southwestern Water Conservation District and the Water Information Program Children's Water Festival. The event offers numerous hands-on presentations designed to educate students about the vital role water plays in their lives, communities, and the world. The goal is to deepen their understanding of water resources and emphasize the importance and value of water. This year's festival took place on May 15, 2024.

Classes participated in 30 rotating 20-minute sessions led by local experts, covering various topics on water, soil, and forests in our District. Students explored diverse water-related career opportunities, water rights, the water cycle, the water content in our food, conservation, pollution, safety, the City's water distribution system, aquatic species, ecosystem wetlands, water treatment, and the role of water in different industries, and of course fun with the Water Wizard, plus much more. Engaging in fun, hands-on activities, students enjoyed learning about both local and global water issues.

A huge thank you to all of the 30 presenters who spent the day teaching the kiddos, and additional individuals who volunteered for the event- leading classes, directing buses, and helping to set up and tear down the festival.

We are always looking for volunteers, so if you are interested in volunteering next year, please let us know!

Roundtable Round-Up

The nine basin roundtables were established to represent each of Colorado’s eight major river basins and the Denver metropolitan area. Together, the basin roundtables bring more than 300 citizens representing diverse interests including recreation, environmental, agricultural, industrial and domestic water needs. To find out more information about the various basin roundtables in the state, click here.

SW Basins Roundtable – April Meeting Overview

* Membership – Elections were held to fill the vacated Roundtable seats. Buck Skillen was nominated as the At-Large Environmental Representative, a position previously held by Mely Whiting. Larry Dozier and Candy Meehan were approved as general At-Large Representatives, replacing Bill Frownfelter and Buck Skillen, respectively.

Officer elections will be held in July. Ed Tolen, the current Chair, announced that he will not seek re-election after the July election. Members of the Southwest Basins Roundtable (SWBRT) have been asked to consider nominations for a new First Vice Chair, an At-Large Representative, and an IBCC alternate.

* Interbasin Compact Committee (IBCC) - Commissioner Becky Mitchell took over as Chair to the IBCC at the February meeting held in Golden, CO. IBCC sent a survey to the Roundtable chairs soliciting input.

* Public Education Participation and Outreach (PEPO) – The Children’s Water Festival was held on May 15, 2024, at Fort Lewis College. The Public Education and Participation Outreach (PEPO) and the Water Information Program are collaborating to produce an educational video focusing on Agriculture in the Southwest. Ken Curtis, from the Dolores Water Conservancy District, will assist by offering support on potential content and suggesting relevant contacts. Additionally, the new Southwest Basin Roundtable (SWBRT) website was introduced and reviewed. Updates, including new pages and photos, will be added to the website before its final launch.

* Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) Update: Jeff Rodriguez, the Regional Water Coordination Specialist at CWCB, provided an overview of CWCB deadlines and grants. 

Other topics discussed: Colorado River Issues Subcommittee report was presented by Ken Curtis. Southwest Water Conservation District Update was provided by Peter Foster and Steve Wolff.

A discussion took place about the future direction of the Roundtable. To involve Roundtable members and gather their input on funding priorities, meeting topics, and formats, SWBRT distributed a survey. Seven responses were received so far. The questionnaire will be resent via email and will also be available under the January meeting documents on the website: SWBRT Resources -(https://waterinfo.org/resources/southwest-basin-roundtable/). Members and interested parties are encouraged to complete the survey.

Legislative Updates

Bennet, Pettersen, Bipartisan, Bicameral Colleagues Urge Appropriations Committees to Fund Water Infrastructure Projects:

On July 17th, Senator Michael Bennet and Representative Brittany Pettersen (D-Colo.), alongside Senator Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) and Representative Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.), led a bipartisan, bicameral letter to the leaders of the Senate and House Appropriations Committees over concerns with the federal financing of our nation's water infrastructure. The Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) are principal financing programs for drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater projects, with success for nearly three decades. However, more than $3.7 billion dollars has been redirected from these projects since 2021 due to the resumption of earmarks, and as a results, states are now experiencing significant shortfalls in funding for important water infrastructure projects. In the letter, the lawmakers urge the committees to provide a more sustainable funding source for critical water projects. Read the full letter here and the press release here. 

Bennet, Hickenlooper Release Statement on Dolores Canyons National Monument Proposal:

On July 3rd, Senators Bennet and John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) released a statement on the proposal and future discussions to be had to designate the Northern Dolores Canyons Region as a national monument.  The statement puts forward considerations for management, fees, grazing, motorized travel and ATVs, mountain biking, mining, hunting and fishing, and water. Read the full statement here. 

Funding

Don’t Know Where to Start?

Current water project funding opportunities are a lot to take in. That’s part of why the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) hired regional water plan grant managers–to help project proponents navigate this once-in-a-generation opportunity to implement projects statewide. Contact Laura Spann (based in Durango), laura.spann@state.co.us, 720-916-7723 if you need help getting started.

Other Resources: 

• Senator John Hickenlooper Grant Navigation Webiste
• Opportunity Navigator CWCB has compiled this database to serve as a tool for people and organizations across Colorado to navigate all available funding opportunities for water projects in a single place.
• Irrigation Infrastructure Resource Hub Have a water funding need but don’t know where to start? DARCA and the River Network teamed up to create this hub.
• Water Plan Grants The CWCB offers grants to advance the goals of the Colorado Water Plan. Adding storage? Have a multi-benefit project? Lots of project partners, collaboration? An innovative or landscape-scale project? It might fit well here. Roundtable letters of support, while not required, add value to your application. If you want their consideration, the Southwest Basin Roundtable requests a short proposal and presentation at a meeting.

Want to apply for federal water grants but don’t have the staff capacity?

• The Colorado Water Conservation Board’s Federal Technical Assistance Program can help you review the many federal funding opportunities currently available for water projects and prepare and submit federal grant applications. The Technical Assistance Program can also help enhance your projects with feasibility studies, planning, and partial design/engineering so that they stand out in the highly competitive federal grant process. The Technical Assistance Program is accepting applications through fall 2024. For more information, visit the Technical Assistance Program website or contact Michael Regan at michael.regan@state.co.us
• WaterSMART Program Portal This site houses Reclamation's schedule for funding through WaterSMART and Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration and opportunities for Multi-Benefit Projects to Improve Watershed Health.
• Colorado Wildlife Mitigation Funding: Here's a list of state, federal, and private funding available for a wide variety of wildfire mitigation projects, including Watershed Health.

 Career Opportunities 

Drought Outreach and Public Communication Plan Contractor - Budget: $10,000

Josh's Water Jobs Board

Please email morock@swwcd.org if you know of any positions you'd like to share in this newsletter.