Colorado Water Plan

The Colorado Water Plan is a living, stakeholder-owned document. It is the responsibility of all Coloradans to help implement the plan and maintain Colorado as one of the best places in the nation to live, work, and play. The 2015 document unified many decades of water management research, policy, relationship-building, and statewide visioning.

The Water Plan alone does not relieve us of the inherent uncertainty of water scarcity, uncertain supplies, natural hazards, economic cycles, or population and economic growth. The plan requires implementation, leadership, and funding. Check out the letter sent to candidates for statewide office by the Interbasin Compact Committee.

Colorado’s Water Plan sets forth strategies to meet our future needs through balanced policies and actions that all Coloradans and their elected officials can support. The plan attests to our citizens’ ability to organize around shared goals to preserve our water values of:

  productive economy
  vibrant and sustainable cities
  viable and productive agriculture
  strong and healthy environment
  robust recreation and tourism industries

In 2020, Colorado is celebrating the Water Plan's 5th Anniversary; and so far, many accomplishments have been achieved.