Owns the water
State law and the state engineer's office decide who has the right to a stream in a given year.
Government agency · statewide
Colorado Water Conservation Board
State agency responsible for water policy, protection, the Colorado Water Plan, and water project funding.
Works statewide
Their role in the four decisions
How to read Colorado Water Conservation Board
Plans ahead
Owns the Colorado Water Plan process that every basin's planning feeds into.
Pays for the work
Runs most of the state grant programs that pay for local water projects, from small stream restorations to major supply plans.
Does it on the ground
Watershed groups, utilities, districts, and volunteers do the physical work.
Programs
Programs Colorado Water Conservation Board runs
Fund
Colorado Healthy Rivers Fund
Statewide fund created by the General Assembly in 2002 and financed by the Colorado income tax refund check-off, supporting on-the-ground projects for cleaner water, healthier habitat, and improved recreation.
Operated by: Colorado Watershed Assembly, Colorado Water Conservation Board
Eligible: local community-based organizations, conservation districts
Deadline cycle: Opens Martin Luther King Jr. Day, closes the last day of February, awards announced around Tax Day. The 2026 period is closed; the next opens January 2027.
Grant program
Colorado Water Plan Grant Program
Colorado Water Conservation Board grant program supporting multi-benefit projects aligned with the Colorado Water Plan.
Operated by: Colorado Water Conservation Board
Eligible: governmental entities, covered entities with approved water conservation plans, private entities
Deadline cycle: July 1 and December 1 each year
Grant program
Public Education, Participation, and Outreach Grant Program
Colorado Water Conservation Board grant program funding statewide public education, participation, and outreach initiatives and basin-specific PEPO coordinators.
Operated by: Colorado Water Conservation Board
Eligible: governments, municipalities, districts, enterprises, individuals
Deadline cycle: June 1 and December 1 each year
Planning process
Colorado Water Plan
Colorado Water Conservation Board's statewide framework for collaborative water planning, conservation, development, and resilience, adopted by the Board in January 2023.
Operated by: Colorado Water Conservation Board
Eligible: Not specified
Deadline cycle: Not published
Education program
IBCC Public Education, Participation and Outreach (PEPO) Workgroup
Workgroup of the Interbasin Compact Committee, created under the Colorado Water for the 21st Century Act, whose members include an education liaison from each basin roundtable. It informs and involves the public in the Committee's work and relays what it hears back to the Committee and to compact negotiators.
Operated by: Colorado Water Conservation Board
Eligible: Not specified
Deadline cycle: Not published
Neighborhood
Who they work with
Each relationship below is read off a public page, not inferred.
PARTNERSHIP
Partnership around the Colorado Healthy Rivers Fund supporting local restoration and conservation projects.
Source not on file yet
ADMINISTRATION
The Colorado Water Conservation Board administers the Water Supply Reserve Fund, and the Arkansas Basin Roundtable must approve a request from its basin before the Board evaluates it and makes the final funding decision.
Source ↗ADMINISTRATION
The Colorado Water Conservation Board administers the Water Supply Reserve Fund, and the Colorado Basin Roundtable must approve a request from its basin before the Board evaluates it and makes the final funding decision.
Source ↗ADMINISTRATION
The Colorado Water Conservation Board administers the Water Supply Reserve Fund, and the Gunnison Basin Roundtable must approve a request from its basin before the Board evaluates it and makes the final funding decision.
Source ↗ADMINISTRATION
The Colorado Water Conservation Board administers the Water Supply Reserve Fund, and the Metro Basin Roundtable must approve a request from its basin before the Board evaluates it and makes the final funding decision.
Source ↗ADMINISTRATION
The Colorado Water Conservation Board administers the Water Supply Reserve Fund, and the North Platte Basin Roundtable must approve a request from its basin before the Board evaluates it and makes the final funding decision.
Source ↗ADMINISTRATION
The Colorado Water Conservation Board administers the Water Supply Reserve Fund, and the Rio Grande Basin Roundtable must approve a request from its basin before the Board evaluates it and makes the final funding decision.
Source ↗ADMINISTRATION
The Colorado Water Conservation Board administers the Water Supply Reserve Fund, and the South Platte Basin Roundtable must approve a request from its basin before the Board evaluates it and makes the final funding decision.
Source ↗ADMINISTRATION
The Colorado Water Conservation Board administers the Water Supply Reserve Fund, and the Southwest Basin Roundtable must approve a request from its basin before the Board evaluates it and makes the final funding decision.
Source ↗Yampa-White-Green Basin Roundtable
ADMINISTRATION
The Colorado Water Conservation Board administers the Water Supply Reserve Fund, and the Yampa-White-Green Basin Roundtable must approve a request from its basin before the Board evaluates it and makes the final funding decision.
Source ↗Colorado Water Conservation Board is an official cooperator in NRCS's Colorado Snow Survey Program.
Source ↗Administers.
Source ↗Source: public record ↗ · last verified: not recorded for this entry yet.
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