Cole Buerger, DEMOCRAT
State Senate - District 5 Candidate

If you could enact one water policy change in Colorado, what would it be? (250 word limit)
In the West Slope water is not a partisan issue, it affects everyone. I believe in order to protect our water, we must be innovative and make bold changes. As a state legislator I would advocate for providing tax credits to Coloradans who enter into groundwater conservation easements. Within Colorado’s Department of Regulatory Agencies (DORA) the Division of Conservation works to give tax credit certificates to those who enter in conservation easement agreements. Some of those tax credits should be set aside specifically for groundwater conservation easements within the state, particularly for groundwater that is adjacent to the Colorado River.

What outcomes of Colorado River negotiations would you advocate for during your term? (250 word limit)
I would strongly advocate for the “credit” program that the Bureau of Reclamation is setting up, so farmers and ranchers are protected and can use those credits (potentially) to offset water losses during drought conditions. We need studies to see what conservation projects are useful to keeping water, and we need to make sure that West Slope ranchers and farmers are not disproportionately impacted by this program. As we know nearly all of the cuts made in Colorado River consumption during the pilot period of the credit program, came from the West Slope, even though other communities use our water across the state. We need other communities to pull their weight in conserving water so our agricultural communities do not suffer by bearing the brunt of the cuts.

Marc Catlin, REPUBLICAN
State Senate - District 5 Candidate

If you could enact one water policy change in Colorado, what would it be? (250 word limit)
As a 4th generation West Slope farmer and Vice-President of the Colorado River Conservation District, I can tell you there is no single silver bullet that would solve our water challenges. I can tell you though, there is one necessary ingredient to all meaningful water solutions: Collaboration.

All of the major water challenges we face require collaboration and cooperation to ensure that our communities can continue to thrive:

1. Addressing the impacts of transmountain diversions to the health of our high-mountain streams and rivers on the Western Slope.
2. Reducing stream temperatures and preventing river closures due to hotter, dryer conditions.
3. Ensuring adequate flows for agriculture AND recreation.

I am proud to have served as the Vice Chair of the House Agriculture, Water and Natural Resources Committee, where I have worked across the aisle in a collaborative fashion to address many important water issues for the people of Western Colorado. I’ve worked to expand the state’s in-stream flow loan program, protected our high mountain streams and water ways from degradation (Dredge and Fill), placed $11.5 million in species conservation trust legislation, and have helped to deliver more than $20 million in funding to purchase the Shoshone Water Right. Each and every one of these efforts required collaboration, cooperation and bipartisanship.

West Slope rivers serve as the backbone of our communities, our economies, and our way of life. From Aspen to Glenwood Springs and from Rifle to Montrose, the communities I represent at the State Capitol all depend on healthy, flowing rivers.

What outcomes of Colorado River negotiations would you advocate for during your term? (250 word limit)
First and foremost, the Lower Basin, states of California, Arizona and Nevada, must learn to live within its means. Historic overuse of the Colorado River's waters has contributed greatly to the crisis we now face on the "Big River."

Drought conditions and rising temperatures over more than 20 years have reduced the flows of the Colorado River by as much as 20 percent. Sound science tells us we should anticipate and plan for further reductions. We need durable and permanent solutions that will protect our communities in a hotter, dryer future.

For more than 8 years in the House of Representatives and in my previous water management career of 17 years, I have worked with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to create durable solutions that protect Western Colorado's rivers and keeps our water on the Western Slope -- for recreation and environmental needs, for farms and ranches, and for clean drinking water.

It is my hope that Colorado’s cooperation and leadership on water matters can serve as an example for the broader, interstate negotiations over the operations of Lakes Powell and Mead.