Water
Water is life. Do you know where your water comes from?
Where Does Our Water Come From?
The City of Boulder’s water supply is dependent on snowpack in North Boulder Creek, Middle Boulder Creek, and the Upper Colorado River.
Two-thirds of the water comes from Middle Boulder Creek and North Boulder Creek. This water fills the reservoirs, including Barker Reservoir, Silver Lake Reservoir, and many smaller reservoirs
Water from North and Middle Boulder creeks and the reservoirs is treated at the Betasso Water Treatment Plant
The remaining third comes from Colorado-Big Thompson and Windy Gap Projects, operated by Northern Water. This water is delivered to Boulder Reservoir and to the Boulder Reservoir Water Treatment Plant.
My Commitment to Water
This year I co-prime sponsored HB23-1242, Water Conservation in Oil and Gas Operations. HB23-1242 seeks to reduce freshwater use in oil and gas operations and increase the recycling and reuse of produced water while avoiding any unintended consequences along the way.
Water is a fundamental human right and the basis for every living thing on earth. Colorado is facing serious water scarcity and we are currently in the midst of our worst drought in more than 1000 years.
This is an opportunity to utilize recycled/reused water in a way that acknowledges our continued constraints around freshwater.
The bill establishes a fair and transparent process whereby we can continue efforts to protect freshwater while looking for opportunities to safely reuse and recycle produced water.
Certain parts of our state and certain segments of the oil and gas industry are already excelling in reusing and recycling water - but there are infrastructure impediments, emissions concerns, and considerations around the impact on communities that present tangible barriers to duplicating those successes elsewhere.
I am very proud of this bill and what its implementation will do for our water. I look forward to examining more ways the legislature can protect our water next session.