Colorado Water Congress has transitioned the Summer Conference to an all virtual event being held Tuesdays and Thursdays for four weeks, beginning August 25 and ending September 17, 2020.

Week 4
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15

WATER FOR BREAKFAST – STARTS AT 8:00 AM
Sponsored by Brown and Caldwell

Next Steps for the Colorado Water Plan

The CWCB has been updating the underlying technical analysis and coordinating with basins to update local plans to set the groundwork for the Water Plan Update – due for completion in 2022.This session will offer a glimpse into the Water Plan’s evolution and describe the Water Plan update process. Along with CWCB staff and the CWCB contract team (led by Brown & Caldwell) stakeholder representatives from across Colorado will share their hopes for the Water Plan update and discuss how the Water Plan can continue to serve as a living document that supports Colorado’s values and future water needs.

STARTS AT 12:00 PM

Is WOTUS Really That Important?

The 50th Anniversary of the Clean Water Act is just around the corner. So why, after all this time, are we still fussing over just what “Water” we need to ensure is “Clean”? Is the uncertainty due to fuzzy original goals, recent advancements in science, greater environmental awareness, or something else? The Navigable Waters Protection Rule of 2020 may be our current quandary, but should we expect the Waters of the U.S. Definition Train to arrive at the station in time for the 100th Anniversary of the CWA? Is the ambiguity really an impediment to the water community getting our work done? Panelists will shed some light on why/whether WOTUS should receive so much of our attention.

WORKSHOP SCHEDULE – STARTS AT 3:00 PM

The Ogallala

As a prelude to Thursday’s General Session on the Ogallala Aquifer, we will dive into some of the technical details behind the work funded by USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture Water for Agriculture Challenge program. A Colorado State University-led consortium of eight western universities and the USDA-Agricultural Research Service has worked for four years with a $10 million grant to address the challenge. The results of their work to date will be presented in 2021, but we will get an advance look and hear the story of how this remarkable project came to be.

Outcome: Attendees will learn about the critical connection between soil health and water conservation, deficit irrigation management for corn, and balancing short- and long-run outcomes of different management strategies.