Colorado Water Congress

❤️ Happy Juneteenth, or Freedom Day! ❤️

Commemorating June 19th, 1865 the day slaves in Texas received word of the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation, Juneteenth is a joyful reminder of the liberty, equality, and community values we strive towards in the US every day 🇺🇲

Coming to the summer conference? We'd love to have you at a Wednesday afternoon outdoor activity!

Organized by our POND (Professional, Outreach, Networking, and Development) committee, it's a chance to hang out with fellow water professionals doing something you love.

This year's activities are:
⛳ Golfing at Rollingstone Ranch
🏔 Hiking/Trail Running
🚴 Mountain Biking
🥃 Distillery Tour
🌻 Yampa River Botanic Park

Each activity leaves at approximately 1:30 p.m. on August 19th, and lasts until about 5:00 p.m. Check out this page for details on each, and to RSVP for your preferred spot: https://www.cowatercongress.org/summer-pond-activities/

And though they be but little, they are fierce - New Zealand mudsnails have an outsize impact on our ecosystems, despite their tiny size!

These tiny mollusks are voracious eaters and lightning-fast reproducers. They negatively affect other species by limiting the food supply with no known predators in North America for population control. They are also parasites, as when ingested by fish they pass through their digestive system alive, causing malnutrition.

Because they're so small (and can reproduce with only 1 live snail), cleaning gear thoroughly is crucial to stopping the spread! Anglers in particular should make sure to thoroughly clean their tools of mud, plant matter, and other debris before decontaminating equipment.

You can clean your gear one of the following ways:
🧽 Submerge gear in a solution of 6 oz of an ammonia-based cleaner (like Super HDQ Neutral) for every gallon of clean water for at least 10 minutes, then rinse with snail-free water. Dispose of the solution away from a body of water.
🧽 Thoroughly clean gear with hot water at least 140F for at least 10 minutes.
🧽 Thoroughly dry all gear, and leave dry for at least 10 days.
🧽 Place gear in a freezer overnight.

By handling your gear responsibly, anglers can ensure the health of fish and other aquatic populations in their favorite recreational spots!

Photo via Colorado Parks and Wildlife

We extend our warmest thanks to our longtime board member, Andy Colosimo.

In addition to chairing the federal affairs committee, Andy was also the president of the Water Congress during his time on the board. Andy will be moving on to become the executive director of CREDA - the Colorado River Energy Distributors Association.

According to Andy, "It has been an honor to be part of such a great organization and to work alongside so many dedicated professionals. I’ve learned a lot, made lasting friendships, and had the chance to work with people who truly care about Colorado’s water future."

Please join us in sending gratitude to Andy!

Where is Don This Week?

Don West (Member Relations) recently attended COMET Training at the Department of Ag office taught by Robert Sakata and Rosie Skovron. The training promotes discussions about well-being and mental health for ag/rural communities, and is especially timely with this year's drought. Robert and Rosie encourage any others interested in a training to contact them at the Department of Agriculture.

Photo (L to R): Don West, Rosie Skovron , Robert Sakata

The Steamboat Grand is officially SOLD OUT! 📣

While we still have plenty of registration spots left for our summer conference, our hotel block is sold out! Luckily, we have an arrangement with Gravity Haus to provide additional lodgings for our members! Here are the details:

📅August 18 - 21, 2026
💸$164 per room/per night
🚗Waived parking fee / waived resort fee
🤝Tax exempt to the guests who qualify

You'll receive the link for our discounted lodging rate when you successfully register. If you've already registered but haven't booked your hotel, reach out to [email protected]!

This tiny, striated shell holds one of the most pesky invasive species - the zebra mussel.

Along with quagga mussels, these oblong bivalves multiply quickly and profusely, meaning they are notorious for clogging up crucial water ecosystems and infrastructure, threatening manmade and natural waterflow alike. Not to be confused with the more round and symmetrical native clam species, they attach to mostly stationary objects - an easy transfer from a large rock to a boat moored for a few days.

Even a very small piece of one of these mussels left in a tiny bit of standing water is enough to keep them alive enough to spread, so diligent cleaning of gear is essential!

To help stop the spread:
🫧 Scrape off all mussels present on a water craft and dispose of them AWAY from the water.
🫧 Clean any thing you suspect has come in contact with mussels (including waders, oars, and other small equipment) with water at least 140 degrees F
🫧 Drain standing water from all parts of a boat or bucket
🫧 Dry all your equipment out thoroughly for at least 10 days

Remember: Clean, Drain, Dry to stop the spread of invasive mussels!

Colorado Governor Polis has officially activated phase 3 of Colorado’s drought response plan.

After a recommendation from the state Drought Task Force, the governor officially declared the highest level of drought emergency. This measure, "allows the state to take additional emergency response actions, such as potential emergency funding for unmet response needs, a potential request for a federal disaster declaration, and reductions in outdoor water usage at state facilities" according to the press release from the Department of Natural Resources.

Read the full details:

Colorado declares statewide drought emergency Gov. Jared Polis on Thursday declared a statewide drought emergency, citing the record-low snowpack and prolonged warmer temperatures across Colorado. He also activated the next phase of the state’s drought response plan. Polis had placed Colorado under Phase 2 in March. “Today, I am issuing a s...

Our next webinar coming up is all about a real pain in the ANS....

"Clean, Drain, Dry: Mitigating the Costly Impact of ANS" is a free webinar from the Colorado Water Congress. We'll bring in experts on aquatic nuisance species to share how they spread, why they're dangerous, and what we can do to stop them.

📅 Friday June 26, 2026
⏰ 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. US Mountain Time
📍Zoom
💰Free!

Register for this webinar via Zoom here: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5-TDfHVaRg6WLeI6P_qqEA

Participation is highly encouraged; show up ready to learn and ask questions.

👋 Welcome our 2026 summer intern, Sirinya! 👋

Sirinya is from Denver, Colorado. She recently earned her Bachelor’s degree at Harvard University with a double concentration in Environmental Science & Public Policy (ESPP) and Economics. As a native Coloradan, Sirinya has a long-standing passion for Colorado’s water resources and environmental policy and management. She has previous experience from internships at Denver Water and in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Federal Energy Management Program. Sirinya is thrilled to immerse herself in gaining a greater understanding of water issues and policies throughout the state and to contribute to Colorado Water Congress. This fall, she will begin her Masters in Economics at the London School of Economics and will pursue her law degree at Harvard Law School starting in Fall 2028. In her free time, Sirinya enjoys figure skating, reading, and puzzle hunts.

We love having Sirinya as part of the team, and we can't wait to see what great work she'll get up to this summer!