From The Rocky Mountain Collegian (Allison Sylte):
“Water is the basis of civilization,” said Greg Hobbs, a Colorado Supreme Court Justice. “How we use it, conserve it, and make benefit of it is how we keep our society together.” Hobbs spoke to an assembled group of students and community members in the Natural Resources Building Monday about Colorado’s water policy…
Monday’s lecture was organized by CSU’s Water Center, a collection of different departments in the university, which aims to provide information and research about Colorado’s water policy. “Colorado is in a unique position in terms of water use, because we’re a headwater state,” said Reagan Waskom, the director of the CSU Water Center. “And, according to Colorado law, all water is a public resource.”[…]
Hobbs walked the crowd through various intrastate agreements that have been made regarding water use and the inevitable disputes that come about as a result. He gave attendees a timeline of what led to the creation of Lake Mead and Lake Powell, as well as a case in which Colorado gave Kansas $32 million to compensate for misappropriated water. The only way to reach settlements in water disputes, Hobbs said, lies in impartial resolution by our decision makers. Judges, he said, need to be removed from politics to make tough decisions.