This September, 10 members of the Rio Grande Basin Roundtable traveled over the mountains to visit the Arkansas River Basin. On Wednesday, they joined us for our monthly roundtable meeting. The following day, members of both the Arkansas and Rio Grande Basin Roundtables hopped into a van for a full-day tour highlighting water management in Pueblo and Fremont Counties.

The tour began at the Minnequa Diversion Dam, where ARWC recently completed a redesign feasibility study to explore options for fish and boat passage. From there, the group toured the inside of Pueblo Dam and stopped at the CPW Fish Hatchery to feed the fish. After lunch at Milberger Farms, the day wrapped up with a visit to the Bessemer Ditch, where Palmer Land Conservancy shared innovative approaches to working with farmers along the ditch to balance urban growth with shifting water demands. 

We thoroughly enjoyed sharing what makes the Arkansas Basin unique and hearing about the creative solutions the Rio Grande Basin Roundtable has developed to manage water in their basin.