Colorado River Drought Task Force

Since 2000, the Colorado River Basin, including the Colorado River and its tributaries in Colorado, has experienced unprecedented drought conditions that have contributed to decreased water supplies. Climate change, drier conditions, and depleted snowpack may further reduce water available in Colorado’s surface streams for beneficial uses and threaten Colorado’s significant interests in the Colorado River and its tributaries. Dry hydrology continues to reduce water supplies across the western slope of Colorado and the Colorado River Basin and threatens the security of available water resources.

The Colorado General Assembly therefore determines that it is in the best interest of Colorado to form a task force to provide recommendations for programs to assist Colorado in addressing drought in the Colorado River Basin and the state’s interstate commitments related to the Colorado River and its tributaries. (SB-295, Section 1)