Colorado River

Tackling the West’s long-term drought, saving the Colorado River

Everyone in Colorado – and the West – knows the Colorado River is in serious trouble. More than 40 million people depend on the Colorado River and decades of severe droughts have left our water levels at historically low levels. 

We can’t solve this crisis if we fight each other in court while the river runs dry. Hickenlooper has consistently advocated for the only REAL solution: a seven-state agreement where we’re all working together to better manage our resources. He knows we need to avoid wasting time – and water – and come together to chart a path to a more sustainable future.

In DC, Senator Hickenlooper has led the effort to bring the Senators of the Colorado River Basin states – Arizona, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, California, Wyoming, and, of course, Colorado – together and form a bipartisan Colorado River Caucus. The caucus provides a forum to build cross-basin consensus and figure out the best use of our resources.  

Senator Hickenlooper also helped secure billions in federal funding to update our aging water infrastructure and better combat drought. He helped negotiate the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which included over $8 billion for western water management, and the historic Inflation Reduction Act, including $4 billion to help Colorado and the Colorado River Basin address ongoing drought. These historic laws have delivered billions to projects across Colorado, including over $500 million to help complete the Arkansas Valley Conduit (AVC) and deliver clean drinking water to 50,000 Coloradans. Now, he’s fighting to make sure the federal government continues to invest in drought management in the Colorado River Basin. 

A member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Senator Hickenlooper has secured legislation to protect endangered native fish in the Upper Colorado and San Juan River Basins and address the Colorado River crisis from all angles. He introduced legislation to support Colorado River water users as they explore innovative strategies to manage a drier future, better measure and preserve Colorado’s snowmelt, and increase capacity to design and implement water projects through water project navigators to help states, Tribes, and rural communities improve water management.

As governor, he helped negotiate the 2019 Colorado River Basin Drought Contingency Plan which sought to manage demand in order to maintain Lake Powell and Lake Mead levels, ensure compliance with the 1922 Colorado River Compact, and stave off mandatory cuts from the Bureau of Reclamation.