Montrose - Daily Press

James Shea

Daily Press Writer

GUNNISON — Republican Gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez said Friday he opposes any Western Slope water transfers to the Front Range.

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“Nobody has convinced me we need trans-mountain diversions,” Beauprez said in a campaign stop in Gunnison to speak to local supporters.

He said each basin in Colorado must deal with its own water needs within the basin. Until Front Range municipalities exhaust local resources, they should not look at places like the Gunnison River.

“I think the basins should focus on their own needs,” Beauprez said.

He said Colorado has many challenges facing its water future, and he said that all of Colorado must work together to solve the issues.

“I think we are playing Russian roulette if we don’t address our water issues in the state,” Beauprez said.

He said “money always finds the water” and the state must try to find a way for everyone to share in Colorado’s future. Beauprez said if water issues are not addressed around the entire state, the Front Range, where all the money is located, will end up with all of Colorado water assets.

“If we don’t keep the land wet, we are done,” Beauprez said.

He said Colorado must increase its storage capacity to prevent the state’s share of water from flowing out of the Colorado. Beauprez was a supporter of Referendum A, a previous statewide ballot measure that proposed billions in bonds to build more reservoirs but was soundly defeated in 2004.

“We don’t need to steal everybody else’s water, we just need to slow it down before it leaves the state,” Beauprez said.

He said water leaders in the state must work together to keep water disputes out of court. Beauprez said he supports the statewide roundtables as a way to resolve water issues before lawyers become involved.

“Nobody has ever solved our water problems for us; there is not a drop of water that enters the state,” Beauprez said.

Bob Drexel, who is with the Upper Gunnison River Conservancy District, said he was wary of the notion that everyone should work together to solve Colorado’s water problems. He said the Gunnison Basin has been fighting Front Range and other interests for years to protect its water resources.

“We have had to defend our water on many occasions,” Drexel said.

He said the entire state must be concerned about the recent drought and a potential call on the Colorado River, which would impact trans-mountain diversion in the upper Colorado River. Drexel said the issue is not just a Front Range issue and could have an impact on the Gunnison Basin.

“We are concerned about maintaining our lifestyle in the upper (Gunnison) Basin,” Drexel said.

Gunnison resident Mark Schumacher said there is a lot of skepticism about the statewide roundtables. He said the short-term threat in the Gunnison Basin is Front Range interests and the long-range challenge is the increasing demand for water by states like Nevada and Arizona.

Beauprez said he would represent all of Colorado’s water interests, not just the Front Range, if elected governor. He said he has been a dairy farmer and understands the needs and concerns of rural Colorado.

“I’ve got too many relatives to let me forget about (rural Colorado),” Beauprez said.

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