River District’s 2022 Annual Water Seminar to Discuss ‘Overdrawn’ Colorado River

Big river talks with state, tribal, and local representatives to headline the September 16 event at Colorado Mesa University.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, August 18, 2022 

Grand Junction, Colorado — As the Colorado River crisis floods headlines nationwide, all eyes are on the basin states, sovereign tribal nations, and federal entities working to find solutions for the 40 million people relying on the river’s vanishing waters. The Colorado River District’s 2022 Annual Water Seminar, ‘Overdrawn,’ will provide a platform for water leaders and water users to discuss these complex issues and their potential solutions on Friday, September 16 at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction.

Today, in the 100th year of the 1922 Colorado River Compact, water users across all interests and affiliations are bound together by the fate of the Colorado River and its tributaries. As recent announcements from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation delivered little on federal actions and paths forward, the 2022 Annual Water Seminar offers a key opportunity to gather as a West Slope community, learn about the local impacts of basin-wide issues, and find inspiration in community-driven, innovative action.

Featured keynotes and panels at the 2022 Annual Water Seminar ‘Overdrawn’ will include:

  • The 2026 Interim Guidelines: An Interstate Water Users Panel with J.B. Hamby, Board Director of Division 2 at the Imperial Irrigation District (CA), Steve Wolff, General Manager of the Southwestern Water Conservation District (CO), Bart Leeflang, Colorado River Program Manager for Central Utah Water Conservancy District (UT), and others.
  • Tribal Water Rights & The Colorado River: A Sovereign-to-Sovereign Conversation with Daryl Vigil, Water Administrator at Jicarilla Apache Nation, Rebecca Mitchell, Colorado Commissioner to the Upper Colorado River Commission and Director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board, Estevan Lopez, New Mexico Commissioner to the Upper Colorado River Commission and former Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner, and others.
  • The Future of West Slope Agriculture with Kate Greenberg, Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture.
  • Writing Water – A Journalist’s Perspective with Alex Hager, Colorado River Basin Reporter at KUNC.

The 2022 Annual Water Seminar will provide in-person and virtual attendance options, however in-person attendance is strongly encouraged as virtual viewing will not offer engagement or networking opportunities. Additionally, in-person attendees will receive light morning snacks, lunch, and a happy hour beverage at the end of the program.

Register for the Colorado River District’s Annual Water Seminar Here:
https://www.coloradoriverdistrict.org/annual-water-seminar/

### 

Press Release