A subgroup of our Federal Affairs Committee traveled to Washington D.C. for our annual CWC Federal Affairs Issues briefing with Colorado’s Congressional Delegation, on Monday April 1. It is a unique opportunity to be able to interact with staffers and be a part of a collaborative discussion on Colorado’s top federal water issues. This year, we were honored to have a representative from almost every office join us for our event. Some of our discussion topics included:
Water Infrastructure Funding
Watershed and Forest Health
Waters of the United States
Endangered Species Recovery Implementation Programs
Water Rights Protection Act
Authorization/Funding for Control of Aquatic Nuisance Species
Tax Exemption for Water Conservation Rebates
Farm Bill and Conservation Programs
This was also an opportunity for our subgroup to set meetings on The Hill and advocate for water issues in Colorado. One of our meetings was with Lane Dickson, Senior Professional Staff of the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee, and Rebecca Bonner, Democratic Professional Staff Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. We walked through our federal issues priorities with particular focus on the efforts behind Colorado’s Drought Contingency Plan and the pending legislation.
Our CWC briefing coincided with the National Water Resources Association’s (NWRA) Federal Water Issues Conference. Sessions included: an overview of current Irrigation Trends, update on Endangered Species Act in the 116th Congress and Supreme Court Amicus Update on the County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund case. We also had keynote presentations from:
Shelby Hagenauer, Deputy Commissioner, Bureau of Reclamation
The Honorable R.D. James, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works
Kiel Weaver, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior
The Honorable Tim Petty, Deputy Assistant Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior
Christine Arbogast, CWC’s Federal Affairs Liaison and Vice President of NWRA, also participated in the Federal Affairs Roundtable session focused on top water infrastructure issues with key congressional staff. She and Cheryl Zittle, President of NWRA, also hosted a Women and Water Networking Event. We were joined by The Honorable Martha McSally, Chair U.S. Senate Water and Power Subcommittee. A purpose of this group is to support the education of a young woman with a passion for water. The group is developing a scholarship to that end and will host a reception at our upcoming Summer Conference! Our trip to Washington D.C. overlapped with 2019 Water Week and the National Water Policy Fly-In. Water Week is the only national policy event of the year that draws together water professionals from across the country to advocate for the unique needs of drinking water and clean water utilities. The National Water Policy Fly-In serves as the anchor event for Water Week and is the most widely attended national policy event for water professionals to advocate on behalf of clean water utilities.
Our commitment to sustainable solutions and socially responsible operations began long before "green" was in vogue. It is our fundamental belief that we can drive company growth by providing innovative solutions that preserve the health of ecosystems and improve the lives of our employees, clients and our communities.
We're developing new ways of doing business, ranging from choices about how we operate our offices, expanding the services we provide to clients, and investing in the health of the communities we serve. We are guided by and measured against initiatives geared toward reducing the environmental footprint of our own operations. We are constantly working with our clients and partners to discover and apply new ways to protect water, conserve energy, limit waste, and reduce carbon footprint. It's our heritage and our future.
Colorado Water Congress welcomes our newest member: Karlene R. Thomas, P.E.
Dedicated to the world’s most important resource, AWWA sets the standard for water knowledge, management and informed public policy. This year our Annual Conference, ACE19 will take place June 9-12 in Denver, Colorado. Learn, connect and be inspired to solve today’s global water challenges. Explore this year’s program and select sessions focused on asset management, utility risk and resilience and water quality challenges – along with the new smart water utility and potable reuse tracks. Be sure to take advantage of dedicated Exhibit Hall time to see cutting-edge products and services and meet new contacts.
Trout Unlimited Launches 'Sportsmen for San Juan Mountains Wilderness Campaign'
Pagosa Daily Post
Northern Water Plans to Trade Water with Dozens of Farms for Poudre River Reservoir Project
Coloradoan
The Colorado Oil & Gas Bill is Nearing Final Approval
The Colorado Sun
This was also an opportunity for our subgroup to set meetings on The Hill and advocate for water issues in Colorado. One of our meetings was with Lane Dickson, Senior Professional Staff of the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee, and Rebecca Bonner, Democratic Professional Staff Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. We walked through our federal issues priorities with particular focus on the efforts behind Colorado’s Drought Contingency Plan and the pending legislation.
key congressional staff. She and Cheryl Zittle, President of NWRA, also hosted a Women and Water Networking Event. We were joined by The Honorable Martha McSally, Chair U.S. Senate Water and Power Subcommittee. A purpose of this group is to support the education of a young woman with a passion for water. The group is developing a scholarship to that end and will host a reception at our upcoming Summer Conference!
Our trip to Washington D.C. overlapped with 2019 Water Week and the National Water Policy Fly-In. Water Week is the only national policy event of the year that draws together water professionals from across the country to advocate for the unique needs of drinking water and clean water utilities. The National Water Policy Fly-In serves as the anchor event for Water Week and is the most widely attended national policy event for water professionals to advocate on behalf of clean water utilities.
