Colorado’s Water Plan Shapes the Future as More Funds Flow into Stream Restoration

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As the West’s “headwaters state,” The future of water in Colorado carries high stakes for its downstream neighbors. Water from the state’s eight major river basins sustains people living in nineteen states and Mexico, including five of the United States’ top ten agricultural states. It powers the region’s energy industry, drives a growing recreational economy, flows through more than six national parks and fifteen national forests, and supports countless habitats and the birds that depend on them. 

Many of Colorado’s headwater streams, high-elevation wet meadows, and riparian (streamside) wetlands have been degraded from decades of intensive grazing, conversion to agriculture, and flow diversions to irrigation ditches or constructed ponds. In healthy conditions, these stream and wetland ecosystems provide natural water storage, soaking up spring snowmelt like a sponge and slowly releasing that water throughout the summer and into the fall. These systems help buffer for wildfire, supply clean water, and maintain high groundwater tables which provide water resilience during times of drought. They also provide habitat for birds and other wildlife. Restoring degraded streams and reconnecting them with their historic floodplains can restore many of these ecosystem services and bolster drought and climate resilience. 

Recognizing the importance of these natural systems, state leaders have taken steps to address Colorado’s water future. In 2013—just over ten years into the mega-drought still devastating the southwestern United States—Governor John Hickenlooper signed an executive order directing the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) to develop a statewide plan for managing Colorado’s water resources across four key sectors: sustainable cities, productive agriculture, a robust recreational economy, and healthy watersheds.   Colorado’s Water Plan (Water Plan) was adopted in 2015 and was recently updated in 2023 with an added focus on multi-benefit strategies, including the implementation of nature-based solutions and stream restoration objectives, to increase drought and climate resilience across all four sectors. 

Recently, a series of state ballot initiatives have increased the amount of funding available for water projects through the state’s Water Plan grant program. In 2019, Colorado voters passed Proposition DD, which legalized sports betting and created a tax on winnings that would fund Colorado’s Water Plan. This made $29 million per year available to support infrastructure upgrades and other water projects, including restoration work. However, Proposition DD also capped the amount of tax revenue that could be collected from the sports betting industry at $29 million annually. But just this past fall, in 2024, voters passed Proposition JJ with overwhelming (74%) support. This proposition opens more funding for Water Plan implementation by removing the $29 million cap. In fiscal year 2023-2024, for example, Proposition JJ would have made an additional $900,000 available for Water Plan implementation. With this increased funding, it’s especially timely to consider how restoration projects can align with the Water Plan’s goals.

In February 2025, Audubon, with support from the CWCB, published a comprehensive memo analyzing how riverscape restoration can advance the goals and objectives outlined in the 2023 Water Plan. The memo provides valuable analysis for all those working towards a sustainable water future for Colorado. Specifically, this memo is intended to support project proponents and grant writers with watershed coalitions, national and statewide environmental NGOs, municipalities, and other entities implementing riverscape restoration in Colorado.