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CWCB highlights Water Plan grants: planning, farm trials and River Conservation Corps
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Summary
CWCB staff summarized Water Plan and WSRF grants, presenting examples: Alamosa County comprehensive planning linking land-use and augmentation; CSU's TAPS farmer competition to improve irrigation and nitrogen efficiency; and River Science's AmeriCorps River Corps to increase on-the-ground watershed capacity. The board discussed program leverage and outcomes.
At the board meeting CWCB grants staff reviewed the agency's two main grant programs — the Water Supply Reserve Fund (WSRF) and Water Plan Grant Program — and presented recent examples of funded work.
Janine Shaw (grants) said the programs together manage more than 500 active grants and that last year CWCB awarded 136 projects totaling more than $26 million while leveraging roughly $24 million in partner funding. She described the Sports-Betting-derived Water Plan Grant program and the statutory categories that guide awards.
Three grantees presented projects to show the range of work funded. Richard Huebler of Alamosa County described CWCB support for a comprehensive county plan that overlays future land use with technical water-augmentation feasibility, intended to direct development to places where water is available or where augmentation is viable. He said the San Luis Valley’s unique groundwater and recharge patterns mean planning must integrate water availability into zoning decisions.
Amy Kremin of Colorado State University presented the Testing and High Performance Solutions (TAPS) program, a farm-level trial and competition that compares farmers side-by-side on irrigation and nitrogen strategies using variable-rate irrigation, remote sensing, and a decision portal. She said TAPS helps farmers test new tools and practices with low risk, generates robust agronomic and economic data, and supports limited-irrigation tracks that could inform future water-sharing approaches.
Luke Jabernik of River Science described the River Conservation Corps AmeriCorps program that places trained technician members with partners statewide to provide monitoring, restoration labor, PFAS sampling and education outreach. He highlighted that the model reduces partner costs while building local technical capacity and produces standardized data products for managers.
Board members asked about measurement, cost-effectiveness and opportunities for broader deployment. Shaw and the grantees emphasized multi-benefit outcomes and leveraging of federal and local funds; the board approved forwarding the CWCB water-plan appropriation for the projects bill as presented elsewhere on the agenda.
