By Shanna Lewis | CPR
Water in the Arkansas River Basin is in high demand. Farmers, rafters, and fishermen use it. So do cities and towns far from the river, where hundreds of thousands of people live and work. Like elsewhere in the West, the region’s water resources are stretched by drought and growth, along with downstream obligations to Kansas.
The 30th annual Arkansas River Basin Water Forum in Pueblo recently brought together water managers and users from all over Colorado to talk about the often contentious nature of water in the basin and around the state and to look for possible solutions to longstanding, reoccurring and often vexing questions about the precious resource.
Water experts and advocates from the San Luis Valley, the Arkansas River Basin and Northern Colorado explored water preservation strategies during a panel discussion. All three areas feel the stress of the state’s urban growth. Some of the state’s urban centers had representatives at the forum, too, like Colorado Springs Utilities and Aurora Water.