Senate Advances Bipartisan Roberts Bill to Create Colorado River Drought Task Force

Task force will develop policy recommendations, promote water conservation

DENVER, CO – Bipartisan legislation sponsored by Senator Dylan Roberts, D-Avon, that would create the Colorado River Drought Task Force to develop water policy recommendations for the 2024 legislative session cleared the Senate today.

The task force created by SB23-295, cosponsored by Senator Perry Will, R-New Castle, will develop recommendations to provide additional tools for the Colorado Water Conservation Board to collaborate with the Colorado River Water Conservation District, the Southwestern Water Conservation District, and other relevant stakeholders to address the Colorado River drought and promote water conservation.

“All of us on the Western Slope depend on a clean and reliable supply to power our economy and promote our way of life, but worsening drought conditions, exacerbated by climate change, are putting our water supply in jeopardy,” Roberts said. “I am proud to sponsor this important legislation, which will bring us one step closer to addressing one of the most pressing issues our state has ever faced - the endangered Colorado River - and ensure every Colorado community has access to the water resources they need now and into the future.” 

The Colorado River Drought Task Force can meet up to 12 times and must deliver recommendations to the Water Resources and Agriculture Review Committee by December 15, 2023.

SB23-295 will now move to the House for further consideration. Track the bill’s progress HERE.