From The Pueblo Chieftain (Chris Woodka):
If commodities were celebrities, water would be Rodney Dangerfield.
“Because it’s cheap and a public good, water gets no respect,” said James Eklund, director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board, who visited Pueblo last week for a water forum for the business community.
In Colorado, state and local leaders are not taking water for granted. They are in a final push to devise a plan that will guide the statewide uses of water for coming decades. As part of the push, they are calling for the business community to become more involved in the planning process, which first began after the drought of 2002 when Colorado cities found their historic assumption of water supplies were wrong.
The drought led to the formation of basin roundtables and the Interbasin Compact Committee in 2005. Since then, there have been nearly as many water meetings in Colorado as there are water lawyers. But there was never the push to develop a specific plan until last year when Gov. John Hickenlooper asked his staff to create one. And the governor wants one soon, by December 2014, so the state can begin to act on it following this November’s statewide elections. The water plan will be the culmination of nine years of meetings seeking alternatives to the default option of buying up farms and moving the water to municipal use. Conservation, new supply, new transfer methods, completing identified projects, environmental protection and storage will be a part of the plan. The details will emerge by the end of the year.
Eklund said Hickenlooper himself likens the water plan to a “business plan.”
“I was serving as the governor’s chief counsel and we were talking about the importance of water. He said, ‘Let’s see the business plan,’ ” Eklund said. “Governor Hickenlooper looks at life through a business lens, and it’s unacceptable to have no input.
More input is starting to come through meetings organized specifically for business interests.
One business group, the Colorado Competitive Council, which co-sponsored last week’s forum in Pueblo, wants to finalize its list of priorities — also known as “principles” — by July, Competitive Council Director Mizraim Cordero said. The council, along with Accelerate Colorado, conducted the meeting last week to engage Pueblo’s business community in the discussion. Turnout was light with about 20 people in attendance, a number that included several city and county elected officials.
Getting businesses involved in water policy discussion is a challenge, water experts concede. Cordero said small attendance at water meetings is not unusual. Steve Vandiver, manager of the Rio Grande Conservation District, joked that those in the water community should just hop on a bus, ride around and talk to itself.
Bryan Blakely, president of Accelerate Colorado, said the lack of interest is not surprising to some extent — “We’re complacent because we turn on a tap and expect water to come out” — but businesses risk a golden opportunity to shape the final statewide plan.
“We’re looking at this as our plan. This is our chance to weigh-in,” Blakely said.
Rod Slyhoff, president of the Greater Pueblo Chamber of Commerce, and Jack Rink, president of the Pueblo Economic Development Corp., expressed similar thoughts.
“We probably do get complacent,” Rink said. “We need to know where we can make a difference.”
Terry Book, executive director of the Pueblo Board of Water Works, said state policies can have a major impact at the local level. He told the group about the water utility’s struggle with higher energy costs tied to the state’s push for greener energy. That has created a domino effect of increased rates for commercial and residential customers, he said.
It’s an example of why businesses need to pay attention to state policymaking, including in the area of water, he said. “Nothing is simple in water,” Book said. “Good intentions can lead to unintended consequences.”
Arkansas Basin Roundtable Chairman Gary Barber, whose business is water consulting, noted that agriculture is a $1.5 billion business in the Arkansas Valley, about 6.6 percent of the region’s overall $23 billion economy.
It’s also tied to the vibrant and growing $222 million recreation industry on the Upper Arkansas River, he said.
“If you’re in Chaffee County, you want to make sure the water you use for rafting stays in Rocky Ford,” Barber said. “If you don’t have water, you don’t have an economy.”
More Colorado Water Plan coverage here.