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Senate committee advances bill to centralize airborne snowpack measurement at CWCB
Summary
The Agricultural Natural Resources Committee voted to advance House Bill 11‑15 to the appropriations committee. Sponsors and water stakeholders said the bill would move airborne snowpack measurement coordination into the Colorado Water Conservation Board to standardize data collection and improve water-supply forecasting.
Senate members on the Agricultural Natural Resources Committee voted to send House Bill 11‑15 to the Committee on Appropriations after testimony that the bill would centralize statewide snowpack measurement and water-supply forecasting at the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB).
The bill “focuses on 1 of the primary responsibilities of the board, which is supply planning,” sponsor Senator Dylan Roberts said, arguing that better statewide coordination of snowpack data would help water managers plan for shortages and unusual runoff.
The measure would formally create a statewide program to collect, manage and disseminate advanced snowpack and water-supply measurement data, proponents said. Lauren Riss, director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board in the Department of Natural Resources, told the committee CWCB’s statewide representation and basin-based membership make it “uniquely positioned to establish this program and to streamline the management and data collection that this program would provide.”
Witnesses from agriculture and utilities emphasized the operational value. “As the water provider for 1,500,000 customers, having dependable access to accurate water supply measurements and water supply forecast is critical to the successful operations of Denver Water’s water supply system,” Andy Hill, government affairs manager for Denver Water, said. Tyler Garen, director of government relations for Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, added that better forecasting helps producers plan irrigation and adaptation to earlier runoff events seen in recent years.
Technical proponents described the airborne technology the bill intends to incorporate. Jeffrey Deems of Airborne Snow Observatories (ASO) said ASO “provides a complete picture of our biggest reservoir, the mountain snowpack,” and that codifying program support at CWCB would improve stakeholder coordination, knowledge transfer and opportunities to leverage federal funding.
Supporters told the committee the program would also strengthen dam-safety risk management and floodplain mapping by providing higher-resolution, location-specific snow-water-equivalent data than the SNOTEL network alone. Several water managers from conservancy districts and water districts said centralizing procurement and administration at CWCB would reduce administrative burdens for small districts and expand access to advanced measurement services.
The committee adopted a motion to send the bill to appropriations with a favorable recommendation. Recorded votes on the motion were: Senators Catlin (aye), Enersen (yes), Marchman (aye), Pelton B. (aye), Aldenard (aye), Roberts (aye) and the Madam Chair (yes). The committee tally recorded seven yes votes, zero no votes.
The bill’s sponsors said they will return with more details at subsequent hearings on funding and implementation. No formal appropriation or effective-date language was finalized during this hearing.
Proponents asked committee members to preserve a multi‑stakeholder governance approach and ensure timely public dissemination of the new measurements; committee members did not propose amendments at the hearing.
The committee hearing featured several proponents; no witnesses in opposition were recorded.
