From KUNC (Stephanie Paige Ogburn):

Colorado’s statewide water plan has been criticized for failing to make tough decisions about the state’s biggest water issues: how new growth uses water, a new transmountain diversion from the Western Slope, and how to balance urban needs for water with a desire to preserve agriculture, which uses the majority of the state’s water.

In response, those involved with the plan say that’s not the point. The plan, by gathering input from across the state, is bringing together people with very different perspectives on water. By getting them to discuss the biggest issues around water in the state, it lays the foundation for better water management.

“It’s kind of like building a house,” said James Eklund, the director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board and head of the water plan process.

“You have to have the right tools and this plan sets out our tools, and where we are lacking, and how we can make them stronger. And really it’s a blueprint for how we want to build Colorado moving forward.”

On the other side, some of those watching the plan call it less a blueprint and more of a list. Susan Greene, a longtime water reporter and editor of The Colorado Independent, published an in-depth article on the plan where she interviewed Brookings Institution water expert Pat Mulroy. According to Greene, Mulroy was not impressed with Colorado’s plan.

“Essentially she was just saying this is more of a values statement, or almost an encyclopedia or compendium of the water issues Colorado faces than a plan,” Greene said.

Others quoted in the article had similar criticisms.

The Water Board’s Eklund dismissed this critique, essentially saying Mulroy is stuck in the past, where, as the saying goes, “whiskey is for drinking; water is for fighting.” That’s not Colorado’s way, or the way of the future, he insisted.

“Up here, collaboration and cooperation are our motto, and that’s our drive,” said Eklund…

Others involved in the water planning process say that growth and reducing water use with that new growth is the real issue. Jim Pokrandt, with the Colorado River District, said he is glad the state water plan at least talks about land use, growth, and landscaping as an important component of water use.

“How can we grow more smartly is the million dollar question that we need to start dealing with tomorrow,” said Pokrandt.

More Colorado Water Plan coverage here.