Laserfiche WebLink
<br />1993 Colorado Water Convention <br /> <br />THE ROLE OF THE STATE OF COLORADO ON <br />FRONT RANGE WATER CHALLENGES <br /> <br />Governor Roy Romer <br /> <br />Good morning. Thank you for joining with us as we seek to find <br />solutions to some of the key water resource issues of our time. <br /> <br />For the last six years, my administration has focused on jobs, <br />the environment and education. In the arid West, water obviously is a <br />key ingredient in that agenda. Colorado's economy depends upon the <br />vitality of our agricultural economy, and the attractiveness of our <br />recreation and tourism opportunities. Water is essential to the <br />economic prosperity of the Front Range metropolitan communities and is <br />important in maintaining the environmental quality that makes Colorado <br />the most beautiful and attractive state in this country. <br /> <br />I know that some of you have recognized that this Convention has <br />been called on short notice, and some of you are probably waiting now <br />to identify some hidden theme or veiled agenda in my remarks. <br /> <br />Well, there is no hidden agenda. These are the same issues we <br />have been discussing for years. We all recognize that we can do a <br />better job, and that we need to cooperate more, conserve more, and <br />plan better. <br /> <br />I want to be very candid in telling you why we are here today. <br />In the last 5 to 10 years, we have invested many millions of dollars <br />in highly publicized and polarized fights over Two Forks, AWDI, Union <br />Park, the Collegiate Range project, the transfer of Rocky Ford Ditch <br />rights, the proposed Poudre River transfers and many other proposals. <br /> <br />This polarization cannot continue if we expect to assure that <br />adequate water supplies will be available for our future needs. Nor <br />can we expect to resolve our water-based economic or environmental <br />concerns if we are not talking to one another and sharing our ideas. <br /> <br />Although our institutions and our leaders are strong, we need to <br />blow the whistle on what has become an unacceptable level of <br />administrative gridlock, litigation, expense, and delay whenever water <br />development or transfers are proposed. <br /> <br />Many of you probably saw the headline in Saturday's Rocky <br />Mountain News, concerning the state study indicating that the metro <br />area has enough water. To be sure, many communities do have a surplus <br />of water, while others are at risk of a shortage. My purpose here <br />today is not to embrace the conclusion of this study -- it may be <br />accurate, and it may not. But I think it ought to be part of the mix <br />of information we consider. <br /> <br />I want you to know that I do not have the solutions for these <br />problems. But I do know that solutions exist and can be found by <br />those in this room. <br /> <br />3 <br />