Bill > SB283

This bill appropriates a total of $54,700,000 to the Colorado Water Conservation Board for various water-related projects and programs for the 2025-26 state fiscal year. * **Colorado Watershed Restoration Program:** $5,000,000 from the Colorado Water Conservation Board Construction Fund for watershed restoration and flood mitigation projects. * **Basin Implementation Plan Analysis and Updates:** $4,500,000 from the Colorado Water Conservation Board Construction Fund to update water demand and supply analyses for the state's river basins. * **Grant-making for State Water Plan Implementation:** $29,200,000 from the Water Plan Implementation Cash Fund for grants to projects that support the state water plan. * **South Fork Focus Zone Irrigated Acreage Retirement:** $6,000,000 from the Colorado Water Conservation Board Construction Fund to retire irrigated acreage to comply with the Republican River Compact. * **Water Project Loan for Park Creek Reservoir Expansion:** $12,978,500 authorized as a loan from the Severance Tax Perpetual Base Fund to the North Poudre Irrigation Company for reservoir expansion. * **Colorado Floodplain Map Modernization Program:** $500,000 from the Colorado Water Conservation Board Construction Fund to update floodplain studies and maps. * **Weather Modification Permitting Program:** $500,000 from the Colorado Water Conservation Board Construction Fund to assist with cloud seeding programs. * **Decision Support Systems Model Enhancements:** $1,000,000 from the Colorado Water Conservation Board Construction Fund to update the state water plan's decision support systems. * **Statewide Turf Analysis:** $1,400,000 from the Colorado Water Conservation Board Construction Fund to analyze landscape water use. * **Yampa River and Walton Creek Confluence Restoration:** $2,000,000 from the Colorado Water Conservation Board Construction Fund for river and wetland restoration. * **Satellite Monitoring System:** $380,000 from the Colorado Water Conservation Board Construction Fund for stream gauges and lysimeters. * **Colorado Mesonet Project:** $200,000 from the Colorado Water Conservation Board Construction Fund for operation and maintenance of temperature and precipitation stations. * **Water Forecasting Partnership Project:** $2,000,000 from the Colorado Water Conservation Board Construction Fund for water supply forecasting and snowpack characterization. * **Arkansas River Decision Support Program:** $300,000 from the Colorado Water Conservation Board Construction Fund for implementation of the Arkansas River Decision Support System. * **Technical Assistance for Federal Irrigation Improvement Cost-Sharing Program:** $500,000 from the Colorado Water Conservation Board Construction Fund for technical assistance for grant applicants. * **Colorado Soil Health Program:** $500,000 transferred from the Colorado Water Conservation Board Construction Fund to the Plant Health, Pest Control, and Environmental Protection Cash Fund for the soil health program. * **Restoration of Litigation Fund Cash Balance:** $2,000,000 transferred from the Colorado Water Conservation Board Construction Fund to the Litigation Fund for legal issues related to compact compliance.