Ahead of Colorado River Day, US West lawmakers introduce bipartisan conservation legislation

The Hill

24-07-2025

Sens. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) and John Curtis (R-Utah) introduced legislation aimed at optimizing water management in the U.S. West on Thursday, the eve of the region's annual Colorado River Day.
The Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program Reauthorization Act of 2025 would seek to improve forecasting and measurement of water, with the goal of mitigating the impacts of drought conditions.
The bipartisan effort comes a day before the Colorado River's renaming anniversary, when the artery took on its current title in place of the Grand River in 1921.
'In the West, water is everything — our economy, our communities, and our way of life depend on it,' Curtis said in a statement.
'This bill brings 21st century tools to one of the oldest challenges we face: knowing how much water we'll have and when,' the Utah senator added.
The legislation would reauthorize and update the Bureau of Reclamation's supply forecasting program, which is set to expire in 2026, for another five-year term from 2027 through 2031.
Among the key revisions are an emphasis on forecasting tools that inform interstate management, as well as a funding increase from $15 million to $32.5 million over five years.
Noting that more than 80 percent of Colorado's annual surface water supply comes from snowmelt runoff, the senators stressed the importance of maintaining accurate measurements of snowpack — the amount of water stored in snow.
'You can't manage what you can't measure,' Hickenlooper said in a statement. 'Snowmelt is Colorado's largest reservoir.'
Among the measurement technologies included in the bill are imaging spectroscopy, machine learning, integrated snowpack hydrologic modeling and other tools used to inform reservoir operations and interstate management.
The legislation also emphasizes the need to enhance forecasting activities so that they 'are more responsive to changing weather and watershed conditions.'
'By reauthorizing this program, we're embracing new technology,' Curtis said, touting tools like airborne snow surveys and advanced modeling.
These innovations, he explained, could provide 'water managers the clarity they need to prepare, allocate, and respond.'
Hickenlooper echoed these sentiments, expressing his support for leveraging the technologies available to optimize accuracy.
Doing so, the Colorado senator added, could 'unlock a better understanding of how to make the most of our water in an era of extreme drought.'