Water Won in the legislature this year!
Show your thanks to the legislators who voted in support of more water funding this year, and scroll down to see how the three bills supporting water projects statewide will be utilized to make our rivers more resilient in the face of a drier climate reality.
2022
Legislative Priorities
HB1151: Turf Replacement Program — PASSED
HB1151: Turf Replacement Program — PASSED
House Bill 1151 (HB22-1151) would significantly advance municipal water conservation in our state by providing incentives for replacing turf grass.
In Colorado, nearly 50% of municipal and industrial water is used outdoors and a lot of that water irrigates non-native turf. What’s more, much of this turf grass receives little, if any, use.
Replacing turf with more water efficient landscapes would save significant amounts of water, yet Coloradolacks a statewide program to incentivize this change. Some communities have turf replacement incentive programs, but nearly 75% of Coloradans live in places that do not have access to turf replacement initiatives.
HB22-1151 aims to solve this problem. It would direct the Colorado Water Conservation Board to develop a statewide program that provides residents funding to replace high-water-use varieties of turf grass with water efficient, attractive landscapes.
This Bill is Supported By:
HB1379: Wildfire Prevention Watershed Restoration Funding — PASSED
HB1379: Wildfire Prevention Watershed Restoration Funding — PASSED
This bill, introduced by Representatives Karen McCormick and Marc Catlin in the House and sponsored by Senators Kerry Donovan and Cleave Simpson in the Senate, aims to direct funding from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to the protection of watershed and prevention of wildfires throughout Colorado.
This bill allocates $15 million to protect rivers, wildlife, and sources of drinking water supplies from disasters such as floods and wildfire. It also includes $5 million for increased capacity at state and local levels to help secure additional funding addressing water needs for the state from the Federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). This money can then be used to provide assistance to communities throughout the state to reduce increasing threats from wildfires while also can expanding opportunities for river health projects.
Combined, these funds will enhance watershed restoration, flood mitigation and wildfire mitigation — all of which lead to more resilient forests and watersheds.
This Bill is Supported By:
HB1402: Responsible Gaming Grant Program — PASSED
HB1402: Responsible Gaming Grant Program — PASSED
The new bill would address tax loopholes to increase funding for both water and problem gaming programs. As written, it will expand the gaming addiction program by 10x and increase water funding initially by 50%.
This should allow for water funding to increase annually from $12 million to $18 million, and grow from there. To date, sports betting has raised $17.7 million for water and rivers in Colorado.
This Bill is Supported By:
Building Towards Resilience Through Legislative Action
Colorado’s 2022 legislative session began in January with a sobering reminder and call to action from House Speaker Alec Garnett: “Climate change is a clear and present danger that we cannot let up the fight on.” The convening of the legislature brings us new opportunities to engage state leaders on climate and its impact on Colorado’s rivers.
2021 demonstrated vividly the impacts of climate change as well as showing what solutions to increase resilience look like. With below-average snowpack, the first-ever Lake Mead Tier 1 Shortage Declaration, emergency releases from Colorado reservoirs to send water down-Basin, and the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history in late December, the year illustrated the urgent need for increased climate resilience. It also saw many successes, including $20 million allocated to funding the Colorado Water Plan from the legislature, more than $14 million from the sports betting tax, and the passage of the Federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act which dedicates at least $8.3 billion to Western water.
The Water for Colorado Coalition sees many opportunities to build on this work in 2022 and the Coalition supports the Legislature addressing critical water policy issues that will ensure resiliency for our communities, our economy, and our rivers. Our water realities are changing: it’s hotter and drier, and rivers are under more stress than ever before. It’s time for Colorado to meet the moment and prepare the state for a new era in water policy. This year, our Coalition’s priorities will focus on the following critical opportunities to secure our state’s water future.
Take Action Now
HB1151: Act Now to Advance Water Conservation in Colorado
As Colorado’s rivers and streams face the pressures of climate change and growing populations, we need water solutions like those in HB22-1151
HB1379: Tell Your Legislator to Support the Wildfire Prevention Watershed Restoration Funding Bill
A new bill (HB22-1379), would provide large scale funding that will expand much needed resilience and recovery from wildfires for our watersheds, rivers, and all they support.