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Governor Polis, Department of Natural Resources Express Concern Over Colorado River Environmental Impact Statement
Press Release: Governor Polis, Department of Natural Resources Express Concern Over Colorado River Environmental Impact Statement The potential paths forward outlined in the DEIS do not create a workable solution for those who rely on the river ____ DENVER – Colorado submitted comments on the Bureau of Reclamation’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for Post-2026 Operations of Lake Powell and Lake Mead. The DEIS analyzes alternatives for future management of Lake Powell and Lake Mead. Colorado is a headwaters state with significant rights and interests in the Colorado River. Colorado supports a framework for sustainable management of Lake Powell and…
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“This is the river we actually live with” – Commissioner Becky Mitchell, Water Congress – Winter 2026
Wednesday, January 28, 2026 Fellow Coloradans, Let’s start with a truth that somehow still feels radical: The Colorado River is not broken. We are. The river is doing exactly what rivers do when you take too much from them for too long. It is responding to reality. And right now, for many, reality is inconvenient. For more than a century, we built a system of optimism and entitlement. We planned for abundance, labeled it “normal,” and wrote it into law. When the water showed up, we spent it. When it didn’t, we blamed the weather, climate change, or each other—anything…
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Colorado Unveils ColoradoRiver.com: A New Digital Hub for the Hardest-Working River in the American West
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 19, 2025 STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo. — Today, at Colorado Water Congress in Steamboat Springs, Gov. Jared Polis announced the launch of ColoradoRiver.com, a new online resource from the Department of Natural Resources designed to help people across the West understand, explore, and engage with the Colorado River — the hardest-working river in the American West. “I am excited to announce today that we are launching ColoradoRiver.com as the official source for all information on our namesake river,” said Gov. Polis. “Colorado has always been the leader in the basin. This website will serve as an educational…
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State Engineer Declares White River Basin Above Taylor Draw Reservoir as Over-Appropriated in Northwest Colorado
The Colorado State Engineer officially designated the White River Basin above the Taylor Draw Power Conduit at Taylor Draw Reservoir, in northwest Colorado, as over-appropriated. A stream system is considered over-appropriated when at some or all times of the year, there isn’t enough water available to satisfy all the water rights within the system. Water rights owners in the White River, which is part of the Colorado River basin and flows through Division 6 (Yampa, White, Green, and North Platte River Basins), have expressed in multiple years that they were not receiving their decreed amount and requested that the Colorado…
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Colorado Secures $177 Million in Federal Funding for Water Projects
The Bureau of Reclamation announced this week nearly $177 million in funding for water projects in the Upper Rio Grande and Upper Colorado River basins in Colorado. These funds—awarded from Bucket 2 Environmental Drought Mitigation (B2E) and Inflation Reduction Act programs—will help Colorado better address the impacts to our water supplies and aquatic ecosystems from a hotter, drier future. The Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) shares the excitement of all the organizations receiving funding—the awards are a testament to their hard work. Read full press release
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Upper Division Colorado River States Propose Alternative for Sustainable Operations of Post-2026 Operations of Lake Powell and Lake Mead
This week, the Upper Division States of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming submitted to the Bureau of Reclamation an Alternative for Post-2026 Operations of Lake Powell and Lake Mead. The UDS Alternative proposes operations for Lake Powel and Lake Mead designed to help provide water supply certainty and sustainability in the face of a drying and uncertain future. The purpose of the Upper Division States Alternative is to provide a set of modeling assumptions and operating parameters to the Bureau of Reclamation for Post-2026 Operations of Lake Powell and Lake Mead as part of the review process required under…
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A Future With Certainty: Colorado River Commissioner Speaks on Tough Road Ahead for Post-2026 Negotiations
Rebecca Mitchell, Colorado’s Upper Colorado River Commissioner, spoke to a sold-out crowd at the Colorado Water Congress’s Annual Convention in Aurora, CO this week. She shared an update on the state’s negotiation positioning, and the reality of difficult roads ahead, as the states and Tribal Nations work to find sustainable solutions for 40 million people who rely on the Colorado River in the arid southwest. Rebecca Mitchell, Colorado’s Upper Colorado River Commissioner Colorado Water Congress SpeechJan. 31, 2024 Change is coming – and because it is, I can’t emphasize enough how much the Post-2026 negotiations matter. Whether you are in the Upper…
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At Sold-Out Annual Colorado River Conference, Colorado’s Commissioner Stands Strong for State’s Water Users
This week, Rebecca Mitchell, Colorado’s full-time Commissioner to the Upper Colorado River Commission, addressed the more than a thousand Colorado River Water Users Association conference attendees at the 2023 annual meeting in Las Vegas. Commissioner Mitchell stood up for Colorado water users who live on the front lines of climate change and regularly take significant cuts to their water supply. This year’s sold-out conference’s theme was ‘Constructing a Resilient Future: Rebuilding From the Ground Up.’ The meetings, panels, and hallway conversations helped set the stage for ongoing negotiations on improving the management of the river’s largest reservoirs– Lake Powell and…
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DNR Announces Michael Elizabeth Sakas as Colorado River Communications Specialist to Colorado River Team
The Colorado Department of Natural Resources announced the addition of Michael Elizabeth Sakas to the Department as a Colorado River Communications Specialist . The Colorado River Communications Specialist is a key component of the Colorado River Policy and Technical Support Team supported by Governor Polis and the Colorado legislature in the 2023 long bill. For more than 10 years, Michael has worked as a journalist in Colorado where she was raised. She most recently worked for Colorado Public Radio as a climate and environmental journalist where she hosted the podcast “Parched.” The show explores the critical issues surrounding the Colorado…
