The Colorado Water Plan embraces four key values for our state’s vital water resources – a productive economy supporting vibrant cities, agriculture, recreation and tourism; efficient and effective infrastructure; supporting healthy watersheds, rivers, and wildlife; and an informed public with creative solutions for sustainable and resilient water systems.
Through Colorado Water Plan grants, the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) has been able to fund important projects advancing these goals – including TU collaborations with water users. For example, water plan grants are helping with our work to restore cutthroat in the Poudre Headwaters, to improve efficiency and reconnect habitat on tributaries to the Colorado River, and to develop infrastructure improvements along South Boulder Creek that allow fish passage and delivery of low flow releases to preserve instream flows.
Key funding for these grants comes through voter-approved Proposition DD in 2019, which allocates funding raised from sports betting in Colorado to support the water plan. Proposition DD has generated nearly $77 million new dollars for water plan efforts in the past five years – benefiting our watersheds, farms, and communities.
Today, funding from this initiative is exceeding all original expectations – with revenues going over the original cap of $29 million per year. Proposition JJ will allow those extra dollars to be invested in the water plan; if it does not pass, those extra dollars will be returned to casinos and sports betting companies.
The Colorado legislature with bipartisan and near-unanimous support referred JJ to voters so that funds from sports betting can provide much-needed support for our state’s precious water resources.
Colorado TU encourages a YES vote on Proposition JJ
