Rural Water System for Western La Plata County Breaks Ground!
 A ceremony was held on September 14 to recognize the groundbreaking on pipeline construction from Lake Nighthorse to Lake Durango, the first phase in a large project to bring a rural domestic water supply to western La Plata County. These efforts were spearheaded by the La Plata West Water Authority, Lake Durango Water Authority, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, and the Southern Ute Indian Tribe. Funding partners have included the Colorado Water Resources & Power Development Authority, Colorado Water Conservation Board, Southwestern Water Conservation District, Southern Ute Indian Tribe, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, and ALP Water Conservancy District. The rural domestic water system may indeed be the first use from the Animas-La Plata Project!
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Water Boards Pass Resolutions in Support of Amendment 71
 Following the lead of the Colorado Water Congress, SWCD passed a resolution at their October meeting in support of Amendment 71, “Raise the Bar, Requirements for Initiated Constitutional Amendments.” The ballot initiative asks voters to mandate minimum signature requirements with geographic diversity of 2% of voters in all 35 State Senate Districts, and increase the threshold for voter approval from 50% to 55% in order to amend the Colorado Constitution. How is this related to water? Initiative efforts in recent years have posed significant risks to the state's water rights system, which is based on prior appropriation and more than a century of case law and legislation. Read the full resolution.
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Presentations from the 2016 Water 101 Seminar!
Water 101, put on by the Water Information Program, was a hit this year, with at least 75 people in attendance for a full day at the La Plata County Fairgrounds. Retired Colorado Supreme Court Justice Greg Hobbs was the keynote speaker, accompanied by many federal, state, and local entity speakers who described their role in water management.
All the presentations are now available online!
The pilot Water 202 was also well-received! More than 50 people stayed the second half-day to hear more specifics on Colorado compacts and the water court process. The course also provided continuing education credits for realtors and attorneys, of which there were several.
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Southwest Basin Roundtable: October Meeting in a Nutshell
 Eric Kuhn, River District General Manager, updated members on progress with the Colorado River Development and Curtailment Risk Study and a proposed second phase of the study to begin in a few months. A final report on the first phase will go out to interested parties soon via the CWCB and River District websites. Roundtable members also heard about progress with the San Miguel Stream Management Plan pilot and adopted an Education Action Plan for 2017.
The majority of the meeting was spent discussing Water Supply Reserve Account (WSRA) grant criteria and guidelines recently adopted by the CWCB and Southwest Basin specific criteria still in draft form. The Roundtable heard presentations from the Morrison Consolidated Ditch Company, the Town of Norwood and the Sambrito Wetlands Projects. Consideration of WSRA grant applications will resume at the next meeting of the Roundtable on January 11, 2017.
Want to be more involved? The At-Large Agricultural Seat on the Roundtable is now vacant. The position will be noticed in papers starting early December 1, with applications due January 4, 2017. Check back on the Roundtable webpage in early December or call 970-247-1302 for more information.
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Sign Up for the CWCB Confluence Newsletter!
 The CWCB has a new e-newsletter, which is sent out after each CWCB Board meeting (every other month). It highlights the work of the CWCB Board and staff, the IBCC, the nine basin roundtables, partner organizations, and local efforts and events involving water across the state. It also has updates on Colorado's Water Plan implementation and important news and information for the Colorado water community. Click here to sign up and receive the e-newsletter directly. Read the October edition!
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Film Review: Voyagers Without Trace (2015)
 Now available in the WIP lending library, the 45-minute documentary Voyagers Without Trace is the light-hearted story of three young French friends who were the first to kayak the Colorado River in 1938. Intrigued by their journey, filmmaker Ian McCluskey decides to replicate it. There’s only one problem: he’s never kayaked before! Weaving in remarkable color film of the original French Trio trip with modern GoPro and drone footage of his own adventure, McCluskey tells the Colorado River story with a refreshing and *buoyant* attitude. Watch the film trailer here.
The WIP lending library has more than 200 water-related books and movies available for checkout. Stop by to find a book or DVD of interest to you. Want to write a review? We'll share it in the newsletter!
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