Commissioner Newberry | Selling You Down The Fraser One Backroom Deal At A Time

Tomorrow morning at 9 a.m., Governor Hickenlooper will be announcing a 'historic' agreement arrived at through private, back room dealings between elected officials, non-governmental agencies and private corporations.

Dubbed the 'Colorado River Cooperative Agreement,' local environmental activists think Commissioner Newberry, like a knight in shining armor, has been a champion of cool rivers and high flows for Grand County. He's versed with all the right language. Terms such as water temperatures, habitat preservation and mitigation roll off of his tongue like so many drops of spittle. The best part of the agreement? Your commissioner will most likely be retiring next year to pursue other avenues--presumably high-paying gigs involving West Slope water.

What's in the agreement? No one knows specifically, but the details trickling out show a typical rob Peter to pay Paul scenario beginning to manifest. How do you save the Fraser? Dry up Ranch Creek--no one can see it anyway--and various other forms of subterfuge to keep the snarling masses at bay.

I have a question for James Newberry, Jim Lockhead of Denver Water, Thomas Davidson of Summit County, Glenn Porzak of Eagle County, Keith Lambert of Rifle and Eric Kuhn of the Colorado River District. And let's throw Mr. Hickenlooper in for good measure.

All of these people are presumably smart. So why have they not addressed the problem that brought us to this point in the first place? 

Have you been to the Front Range recently? It's what's referred to as a semi-arid, shortgrass prairie. Prairies are usually devoid of trees, but human habitation has changed that dynamic considerably. With a climate that receives only enough precipitation to support short grasses, how is it possible to have millions of acres of green lawns and hundreds of millions of trees? Irrigation, of course. And where does that water come from? Grand and Summit Counties.

Do you know how much water a 20-inch diameter tree needs during the summer months? 600 gallons per month (Reference). And, according to the United States Geological Survey, we each use between 80-100 gallons of water during the course of a normal day. That's 2400 gallons per month, per person. Also, according to the Denver Water Board, lawns are the largest household water consumer (Reference). Outdoor water use accounts for 55 percent of residential water use along the Front Rage according to Colorado State University.

I've lived on the Front Range. I was part of a homeowner's association that mandated a green lawn as part of the agreement. In fact, you could be fined as often as weekly if your lawn showed signs of stress. During summer months with daily temperatures exceeding 90 degrees, I was spending nearly 200 dollars a month on West Slope water to throw on my lawn.

Eighty percent of Colorado's five million inhabitants reside along the Front Range, and many live within associations that mandate green lawns. If outdoor water use was banned or severely curtailed, the front range could immediately support double its current population with existing water supplies.

So what is the Colorado River Cooperative agreement? It's a solution searching for a problem. Western Slope water supplies are not threatened because there's not enough water for people along the Front Range. They're threatened because of mandates to create a temperate habitat in a semi-arid environment.

Bargains, agreements and deals all have one thing in common: money. Ask Mr. Newberry how much of your money Grand County has spent on attorney and consultant fees in pursuit of this agreement (I think I remember him saying $2 million). Then ask him how many times he's lobbied Front Range communities to change their ordinances to mandate smarter outdoor water use to suit the natural environment. 

The Denver Water Board makes a literal ass-ton of money off of homeowners whose association can place a lien on their homes if they don't pour water on their lawn during scorching summers.

Here again, millions of taxpayer dollars have been squandered in non-public dealings with elected officials. Will you get increased stream flows in the Fraser? Maybe. Has Mr. Newberry made a deal with the devil and sold you down the Fraser? More likely. Watch where he goes after 2012... I'd bet money he is going to benefit financially from this deal in the form of jobs and other kickbacks. How about you?

Working with private entities, your elected officials (Newberry) have created a legal document that decided the fate of numerous private property holders without their consult or input. He, at the very least, has perjured his oath of office and shall be held to account.

Mr. Newberry, we had this conversation before. I've told you to your face what I think of your actions. I believe you will come to regret this deal I'll dub 'Newberry's Folly.'