The Water Resources Review Committee approved five bills and one resolution for committee sponsorship during the 2012 legislative session. Bills are identified by letter until formal introduction after the session is convened January 11.

Bill A eliminates the requirement for drinking water treatment facilities to obtain a certificate of designation from local government as a solid waste site.

Bill B exempts water taken up by plants from calculation as part of a hardrock mine's augmentation requirement.

Bill C extends until 2015 the requirement for replacement of stream depletion due to pumping from the Dawson aquifer and replacement for pumping from Denver basin aquifer only if necessary to compensate for depletions causing injury.

Bill D consolidates various funds within the Water Resources Division to provide for flexibility and efficiency in administration.

Bill E eliminates the three year waiting period to obtain replacement of a lost share certificates in mutual ditch company and allows a lienholder of a share certificate to request replacement.

Resolution A calls upon the legislature to avoid diverting severance tax revenues intended for water infrastructure to balance the state budget and to instead use the money for its statutorily intended purpose.

For a copy of the Interim Committee Bills click here.

Proposed bills on requirements for low-flow toilets, graywater re-use, and medication disposal failed to receive sufficient committee votes for interim committee sponsorship; however it is likely that those bills may be introduced by individual legislators once the session convenes.

Water and its impact on agriculture, municipalities and public policy will be the focus of the 2011 Ag Water Summit on Dec. 1 at The Ranch at the Larimer County Fairgrounds in Loveland.

The theme of the event, presented by the Colorado Ag Water Alliance (CAWA), is "Agriculture is the Backbone - Water is the Lifeblood". CAWA is comprised of agricultural leaders from across Colorado representing all facets of agriculture.

Topics to be discussed include: water public policy, developing water storage and delivery projects, agriculture working with municipalities, agriculture working with environmental groups, new technology for ag water efficiency, South Platte well measurement rules, alternatives to ag water transfers and recent litigation and rules impacting ag water.

Featured speakers include: John Stulp of Gov. Hickenlooper's office, Colorado Department of Agriculture Commissioner John Salazar, Jim Martin of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Jennifer Gimbel of the Colorado Water Conservation Board, Bob Streeter of the Colorado Wildlife Commission and many others.

For more information and to register, go to www.coagwater.org. The cost for agricultural producers before Nov. 4 is $50 and $75 after that date. Non-producers are $75 before Nov. 4 and $100 after. Students are free, though registration is required. A Welcome Reception, co-hosted by the Interbasin Compact Committee (IBCC), will be held the evening before the Summit beginning at 5:30 p.m.

Formerly the Young Professionals Committee, the POND Committee has now met three times. They are organizing a number of activities for next year including a networking event that will be held just before the Annual Convention on Wednesday, January 25 from 4:30 to 6:00. The next meeting of the group will be Tuesday, November 29 at 9:00 at the Water Congress office.

Participation in the committee is open to all Water Congress members of any age. If you are interested in joining this committee, please contact our Membership Services Manager, Meg Meyer, at meg@cowatercongress.org.

Are all of the water professionals in your organization receiving Water Congress communications? Please contact Meg (email above) to ensure that your water team is in our database.

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The CWC is pleased to announce the release of a new news service available on its web site called the CWC Evening News.  Updated daily, the Evening News provides summaries of water-related news articles from Colorado and the West. Links to the full versions of each article are also provided. Updates generally appear each afternoon.

Also available on the CWC web site is the NWRA Water News Daily. This news service is provided by the National Water Resources Association and is published daily when Congress is in session. It provides a national perspective on water-related politics and news.