DENVER — A draft update to a statewide water plan projects significant supply shortfalls for both urban and agricultural users by 2050 in the face of climate change and more people.
The Colorado Water Plan is an update to a 2015 plan ordered by former Gov. John Hickenlooper. The plan has its roots in the summer of 2002, when the state was in drought and the 137,760-acre Hayman wildfire that erupted northwest of Colorado Springs was the largest on record.
Since then, Colorado’s climate has become warmer and drier, and the state has experienced three wildfires bigger than Hayman. The draft water plan released last week by the Colorado Water Conservation Board includes a range of possible water futures, including one with a gap of 740,000 acre-feet for municipal and industrial needs by 2050.
