Governor Owens vetoed HB 1070 yesterday, according to the Rocky Mountain News [June 1, 2005, "Water bill gets caught in wash"]. From the article, "The water conservation bill did several things, including invalidating restrictive covenants that prohibited or limited the use of xeriscaping, or that required turf grass. It also outlawed irrigation on public facilities or projects from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and gave water conservation projects a higher priority for certain funds. Owens said the bill was 'debated and passed on a false pretense' that it would not cost the state money. Several departments indicated they would incur significant costs if they had to limit or change their watering times."
This veto will impact negotiations all over the state. West Slope interests, properly, point to a lack of serious conservation efforts along the Front Range when they sit down to talk water. It's true that Denver and other Front Range rights holders are not taking as much water as the law entitles them to. However, if they did, they would dry up many of the headwaters streams in the process.
Category: Colorado Water
6:10:08 AM 
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