U.S. Rep. Boebert Opposes Effort to Transfer San Luis Valley’s Water to the Denver Suburbs
Water is More Precious than Gold These Days
People in Washington, D.C., or in Denver may not understand this, but the San Luis Valley’s foundation is farmers and ranchers who have worked the same soil for generations. The Valley’s agriculture industry depends on sustainable groundwater supplies in the Valley’s aquifers. Recently, a $600-million proposal to pump seven billion gallons of water per year from one of the San Luis Valley aquifers to the Denver suburbs while also drying up at least 22,667 irrigated acres in the Valley has begun to pick up steam.
There are good people on both sides of this issue who genuinely think that what they are doing is in the best interest of their communities. Having said that, the Third Congressional District has fought similar proposals for decades as someone is always trying to steal our water and send it to the Front Range. I stand with the bipartisan and diverse group of local community stakeholders in opposition to the proposal put forth by Renewable Water Resources (RWR).
A quasi-government scheme seeking $20 million in “COVID relief funds” to frontload the purchase of $68 million of the Valley’s water rights at below market value so 25 new groundwater wells can be tapped in one of the Valley’s aquifers to transport nearly 22,000 acre-feet of water annually and in perpetuity to the Denver suburbs is not a winning solution for the Valley.
