Colorado's Water Plan: A Commitment to Collaboration; Russ Sands

 

 

 

 

Russ Sands¹

 

 

 

The Colorado Water Plan (Water Plan) was built on a legacy of stakeholder engagement that began 15 years ago with the legislation that started the basin roundtable process. In creating the Water Plan, the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) led an unprecedented exercise in statewide stakeholder engagement and the Water Plan draft received more than 30,000 comments before it was finalized. However, the Water Plan was always meant to be a living document and has been at the core of collaborative water efforts since its release in 2015. As the Water Plan gets ready to celebrate its 5-year anniversary in 2020, the CWCB is diving into a new collaborative state-wide effort as it works to develop a Water Plan update in 2022.