South Platte Forum Explores Issues Surrounding South Platte River

The 22nd annual South Platte River Forum will be held Wednesday, Oct. 19, and Thursday, Oct. 20, at the Plaza Conference Center, 1900 Ken Pratt Blvd., Longmont. The forum, “Making River Music,” will examine issues such as lower basin groundwater, water economics, energy and its relation to water use, water conservation and water transfers in the South Platte basin. The forum strives to provide an avenue for a timely, multidisciplinary exchange of information and ideas important to resource management in the basin.

Day one of the forum will include an update by John Stulp, water advisor to Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, followed by a panel focused on results of the statewide water supply inventory. The keynote luncheon on Oct. 19 will be “A View from Around the State: Global Negotiations,” by Jim Lochhead of Denver Water. The Friends of the South Platte Award will be presented to Tom Cech, former executive director of the Central Colorado Water Conservancy District.

The afternoon will include a session on economics which will include discussion on how to finance Colorado’s water future and align it with the values of the population.

Day two of the forum includes several presentations on water conservation. The keynote speaker on Thursday will be Bill Ritter from CSU’s Center for New Energy Economy. The afternoon will focus on different sources of energy from within the South Platte Basin and include discussions on oil and gas exploration, hydraulic fracturing as well as hydropower.

The South Platte River begins high in the Colorado mountains near Fairplay. It flows through Denver and continues eastward into Nebraska, joining the North Platte River near the town of North Platte, Neb.

The South Platte Forum is sponsored by Tetra Tech, Colorado State University Extension, Aurora Water, Denver Water, Northern Water, Parker Water and Sanitation District, St. Vrain and Left Hand Water Conservancy District, Colorado Water Institute, Metro Wastewater Reclamation District, Colorado Division of Wildlife, Deere and Ault Consultants, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and U.S. Geological Survey.

Registration is available at the door for $115 per person. For a schedule of events, visit www.southplatteforum.org or contact Jennifer Brown at (402) 960-3670 or Jennifer@jjbrown.com.

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