It’s been a dry year. Although late-spring snowfalls brought snowpack in the Upper Colorado River Basin to more than 100 percent of normal, the mighty Colorado River, with its headwaters in Colorado, is in high demand year after year. Limited water supply and growing populations place increased pressure on the river. To help Coloradans better understand the complexities of water issues and use along the Colorado, the Colorado Foundation for Water Education will lead a tour through the lower portion of basin next week, May 30-31.

“The Colorado River is the lifeline of the West,” says CFWE executive director Nicole Seltzer. “As a headwaters state, Colorado is unique–this tremendous river begins with us. We enjoy it, fight over it, use it and impact it as it winds across the landscape. Here, water is a scarce resource and the competition for that resource is going to get more and more difficult in the future.” The Basin Tour will draw attention to often contentious but increasingly cooperative issues by bringing in a range of experts to talk about the river. 

Next week’s tour will focus on the relationship between agriculture and municipal water use, infrastructure projects and improvements, the Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program, riparian restoration, community engagement in water issues and more. Find out more about the topics covered and where the tour will take you each day by checking out the itinerary.

Attendees will include a diverse mix of state legislators, educators, engineers, attorneys, and other interested parties. “Everybody needs to understand the implications of their water use on a personal and policy level,” Seltzer said, “This year the Colorado Basin tours are especially important. From tour participants to speakers, there are a lot of people who are interested in and passionate about the Colorado River.”

It’s not too late to register! Sign up for the tour here and come early for a float trip on Wednesday, coordinated by Colorado Mesa University.

If you can’t make it out for the Lower Colorado River Basin Tour,  join CFWE for the Upper Colorado Basin Tour June 20-21 and check out the newly released Colorado River Basin Interactive Guide, created by Western Resource Advocates. From their press release:

CoRiverBasin.org presents scenic points of interest, snowpack and river flow data, recreation businesses and other useful information on two interactive maps intended to engage and inform people of all ages.

 “The helpful new interactive maps at CoRiverBasin.org illustrate our connection to the Colorado River and its importance in sustaining our outdoor recreation economy, irrigating our crops, and keeping our cities and towns running,” said U.S. Senator Mark Udall (D-Colo.). “Wayne Aspinall once said, ‘When you touch water, you touch everything.’ Nowhere is this more true than the Colorado River.”