As Colorado business leaders, the members of the Rocky Mountain chapter of Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2) are concerned by the mounting evidence that climate change will make it harder to meet the state’s future water needs, that these risks are not yet sufficiently understood, and that not enough is being done to reduce them.
We call on the governor and other key public officials to ensure that the new State Water Plan being developed includes specific measures to adequately reduce Colorado’s water risks, as magnified by climate change. Our central recommendation is that the state government, water providers, and the private sector work together to reduce per capita municipal and industrial (M&I) water use by 25 percent by 2025 and by 50 percent by 2050. This is a more ambitious goal than anyone has yet proposed for this state. But it is the action that is proportionate to the challenge. It is realistically achievable, as evidence from Colorado and other western states shows. And it is the most reliable, flexible, and affordable way to meet our water needs in a changed future.