Southwest Basin Roundtable - The Water Information Program

The next Southwest Basin Roundtable meeting is scheduled for:

Wednesday, October 10, 2018
Durango Public Library
1900 East 3rd Avenue
Durango, CO 81301
2:30 pm Social Half-Hour
3:00 pm Meeting

NOTICE: AT LARGE MEMBER (2) & PEPO LIAISON APPOINTMENT:

The Southwest Basins Roundtable is seeking persons interested in serving as voting members, as well as a non-voting liaison to advance the group’s educational and outreach goals. We are accepting applications for the following positions:

At-large representative (voting member)
At-large environmental representative (voting member). From the bylaws, this member “shall represent environmental interests and shall be selected from nominees submitted by one or more regionally, state-wide, or nationally recognized environmental conservation organizations that have operated in Colorado for at least five years.”
Public Education and Public Outreach (PEPO) liaison (non-voting representative).This person would lead a committee to facilitate the educational and outreach goals of the Roundtable in implementing the water plan. While this position is not a voting member, Roundtable members are eligible to serve as well.

Applicants should submit a letter with their qualifications to Laura Spann at [email protected] or Southwestern Water Conservation District, 841 E Second Avenue, Durango, CO 81301 no later than Wednesday, September 26, 2018. Elections will be held at the October 10, 2018 meeting at the Durango Public Library at 3:00 pm, at which applicants will have an opportunity to address Roundtable members. Please contact Mike Preston, Roundtable Chair, at 970-565-7562 for specific questions.

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Please see below an urgent communication from Ed Zink, La Plata County appointment to the Roundtable:

Emergency Help: Animas Valley Ditch Companies

Drought-Fire-Flood Funding Opportunities

La Plata County has posted excellent information regarding preparedness for floods after fires.

Colorado Watershed Restoration Grant program on a rolling basis for areas affected by fire in 2018 in order to better align the program to the current needs. The regular application deadline is November 2, 2018. Grant money can be used for planning and engineering studies, including implementation measures, to address technical needs for watershed restoration and flood mitigation projects throughout the state.

Check out this comprehensive fact sheet for Drought Financial Assistance opportunities, as well as this DOLA summary for water and wastewater treatment funding assistance.

USDA has also announced a funding opportunity for rural water infrastructure projects.

Since the last Roundtable meeting, the following letters of support have been submitted:

SWBRT Chair Letter of Support Wines Diversion Project 7-27-18
Wines Diversion Project Request for Southwest Basin Roundtable Letter of Support 7-27-18

At the July 11 meeting, the Roundtable passed the following resolution in support of Phase III of the Colorado River Risk Assessment Study:

Southwest Basin Roundtable Phase III Risk Study Resolution 7-11-18

Members also heard the following presentations on forest health:

Dolores Watershed Resilient Forest
San Juan Headwaters Forest Health Partnership, 2-3-2 Collaborative
Coalitions & Collaboratives

Nine basin roundtables were established to represent each of Colorado’s eight major river basins and the Denver metropolitan area. Together, the basin roundtables bring more than 300 citizens representing diverse interests including recreation, environmental, agricultural, industrial and domestic water needs.

At their quarterly meetings in either Durango or Cortez, 40 members of our local roundtable come from all over southwestern Colorado to provide input into the water plan, arrive at consensus on difficult issues, and approve state funding for area projects.

Learn about our Basin Implementation Plan!

The Southwest Basin Roundtable has been involved in the development of the Colorado Water Plan, which was finalized in December 2015. You can read the full document online or watch a short video covering themes from the plan. To download the most recent fact sheet or watch a webinar, visit coloradowaterplan.com.

Walk through the water plan with this online story map!

As part of the water plan process, the Roundtable developed a strategy just for our area, the Basin Implementation Plan. The following are additional area-specific documents for your reference:

Would you like your project to be on the IPP list?

In early 2018, the following status update was provided to the Roundtable:

Basin Implementation Plan Status Report 2017

How do I apply for a Water Supply Reserve Fund Grant?

For WSRF grant applicants, please complete the following questionnaire and submit it with your application:

The fllowing checklist and flowchart are for your reference:

WSRF Checklist and Flowchart

Below are the January 10 funding workshop presentations and materials for your reference:

For the full application and instructions please visit the CWCB website. CWCB will only accept the most recent application form available at this link. For more information or questions, contact Roundtable Chair Mike Preston, 970-565-7562, [email protected], or CWCB Liaision Megan Holcomb, [email protected], 303-866-3441 x 3222.

Additional water project funding is available through the CWCB, including the Water Plan Grant Program and Watershed Restoration Program. Visit the CWCB website for the full list of funding opportunities.

The Colorado Department of Local Affairs also provides financial assistance for water and wastewater treatment. Please see this resource for available options.

Water Supply Reserve Fund Balance, Completed Projects

Click here for the most recent Water Supply Reserve Fund Balance. Look to the right of the webpage under “Additional Information.” It is the first choice and will be updated anytime these balances change. To review final reports for past WSRF grant projects, please see the CWCB website. Select “Southwest” under Basin Roundtable and “Final Deliverable Documents” under Document Type. In addition, CWCB prepares a general WSRF report on an annual basis, which is now available for state FY2017. These reports are posted on the WSRF homepage.

Stream Management Planning

Missed the Stream Management Planning Workshop? Catch up here:

Regarding SMP efforts in southwestern Colorado, here is the March 2018 Draft San Miguel Environmental & Recreational Needs Assessment.

Ag Water Workshops Winter 2018

Missed the winter 2018 Colorado Ag Water Alliance workshops? Check out the presentations below:

Roundtable Members, Bylaws, and Minutes

As of July 2018, Roundtable leadership team is Mike Preston (Chair), Ed Tolen (First Vice-Chair), Brandon Johnson (Second Vice-Chair), Steve Harris (IBCC Representative), Bruce Whitehead (IBCC Representative), and Mely Whiting (IBCC Alternate Representative).

To learn more about the Roundtable or to be added to the mailing list, please contact Roundtable Chair Mike Preston, 970-565-7562, [email protected] and Recorder Laura Spann, 970-247-1302 [email protected]. You can also sign up for the CWCB Confluence Newsletter or the Water Info Program Newsletter!

Previous Roundtable Meeting Documents

AGENDA – SW Basin Roundtable 7-11-18

Agenda Item 1:

Agenda Item 2:

Agenda Item 6:

Agenda Item 8:

Forest Health Supplemental Materials

Agenda Item 9:

Update: Due to a decline in revenues, as of April 2018, the Southwest Basin Roundtable adopted the following changes to their consideration of funding requests:

WSRF proposals will only be considered for funding approval in July and January which aligns with the schedule for consideration of Statewide funding requests.
WSRF Basin funding requests will be limited to $25K so as to be able to cover more requests while WSRF funds remain scarce.
There is $7 million in additional funding in the Projects Bill for the Water Plan Implementation grant categories. These requests do not require Roundtable approval but benefit from a letter of support signed by the Roundtable Chair.
Concept Proposals are welcome at all Roundtable meetings, as a step towards a full WSRF proposal (January and July), and to present a Water Plan Implementation Grant proposal for which a letter of support from the Chair will be requested.

For more information about the Roundtable, please contact Chairperson Mike Preston at 970-565-7562.