Legal

New legislation could help water-strapped regions of the state meet their obligations to deliver water to Kansas, New Mexico and Texas.

Though many agricultural interests and water utilities support the new Waters of the U.S. (WOTUS) rule, as it is known, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser and Patrick Pfaltzgraff, director of the state’s Water Quality Control Division, said they will take legal action to protect streams that are no longer subject to federal oversight.

Colorado Stone Quarries must rehabilitate streams they illegally diverted in 2018, but some say even more needs to be done.

State engineers in the Arkansas River basin are beginning to crack down on more than 10,000 ponds without legal water rights, which they say are harming senior rights holders.

Colorado's Environmental Justice Advisory Board is discussing recommendations to help the state strengthen its environmental justice work.

As the Southwest faces rapid growth and unrelenting drought, the Colorado River is in crisis, with too many demands on its diminishing flow. Now those who depend on the river must confront the hard reality that their supply of Colorado water may be cut off.

Ouray County is asking the state water board to delay a court filing designed to protect streamflows and resolve issues in a related case.

Managing how water moves from one side of the Continental Divide to the other requires cautious timing and accurate forecasting.

Douglas County will not use COVID-relief funding to help finance a controversial $400 million-plus proposal to export farm water from the San Luis Valley to their fast-growing, water-short region.

Imposing hefty taxes on speculative water sales, requiring that water rights purchased by investors be held for several years before they can be resold, and requiring special state approval of such sales are three ideas that might help Colorado protect its water resources from speculators.