As drought continues to plague the West, Wyoming is in a unique position as a headwater state to the Colorado River, and how the state diverts its water will impact the entire region. That is why lawmakers are considering a bill that would give Wyoming community stakeholders a voice at the table.
The Green River and Little Snake River in southwest and south central Wyoming are headwaters of the Colorado River Basin system, which provides water to 40 million people. As supply is shrinking, western states dependent on that supply are rushing to conserve water.
Wyoming lawmakers would like to see input from everyday water users – like farmers and ranchers – so they are suggesting creating a committee.
“Everybody in my county is a water user of the Colorado River, everybody,” said Speaker of the House Albert Sommers (R-Pinedale) who is sponsoring the House Bill 222. “And because of that, I think we have a right to have a seat at the table in these discussions.”
The Colorado River Advisory Committee would meet throughout the year and give their thoughts to the governor, state engineer and Wyoming’s commissioner to the Upper Colorado River Commision about the “beneficial use, development, protection and conservation of water from the Green and Little Snake rivers and their tributaries relative to Wyoming's rights and obligations under the Colorado River Compact and the Upper Colorado River Basin Compact.”
The House briefly disputed where the funding for the committee should come from. One lawmaker thought it should come from a specific state account dedicated to water development projects, rather than the general fund. But, Sommers disagreed, saying the committee will support more than just water development.
“It'll benefit recreationalists, it’ll benefit irrigators, it'll benefit municipalities. It'll benefit a lot of people,” he said.
Ultimately, the House voted to pull $200,000 from the general fund. The bill passed second reading in the House. The deadline for bills to pass a third reading in their house of origin is Wednesday, Feb. 8.
