According to an AP Article published on December 12th by the Colorado Sun, states in the U.S. West that have agreed to begin taking less water next month from the drought-stricken Colorado River got praise and a push for more action Thursday from the nation’s top water official. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman told federal, state and local water managers that abiding by the promises they made will be crucial to ensuring that more painful cuts aren’t required. “We need to be proud of what we’ve done,” Burman told hundreds at the annual Colorado River Water Users Association conference at a Las Vegas Strip resort, while also warning of “tougher challenges in the future.”

Arizona, Nevada and Mexico will start taking less water from the river Jan. 1 under a drought contingency agreement signed in May. It followed lengthy negotiations and multiple warnings from Burman that if the seven states didn’t reach a deal, the federal government, which controls the levers on the river, could impose severe water restrictions.

You can read the full article here. The bottom line is that the Colorado River is at risk and that river flows WILL decline in the future due to climate change. Yet Denver Water persists in their outmoded plan to pull MORE water from the Colorado River Basin in order to fill an expanded Gross Reservoir. We will say it again and again... we have to find sustainable ways to deal with looming water shortages. Building a bigger dam to trap water that simply will not be available is nonsense. Please read the article for details - an informed public is demanding that Denver Water rethink this project!