Daily Press Writer
MONTROSE — A recent article in the Montrose Daily Press about statements made by Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez caused a stir with Western Slope water officials and his Democratic opponent.
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“Nobody has convinced me we need transmountain diversions,” Beauprez was quoted in the Daily Press Monday.
Water professionals around the state and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill Ritter seized on the statement, believing that Beauprez was not taking a consistent position on transmountain diversions. Beauprez supported Referendum A, a 2003 ballot measure that would have allowed the state to borrow $2 billion for unspecified water projects. Many water professionals believe the ballot measure’s goal was to divert water to the Front Range from the Western Slope.
“Three years ago, the Congressman supported Referendum A,” Ritter said in a released statement. “Now he’s saying he doesn’t support the very thing Referendum A would have done.”
Ritter said Beauprez made the statement to satisfy residents on the Western Slope, but they don’t represent his previous support for transmountain diversions.
He cited a 2003 statement that Beauprez made during a hearing of the U.S. House Subcommittee on Water and Power that states, “Trans-basin transfers: We must be willing to do the hard work of moving water from where it is generated to where it is needed.”
“I don’t think there is anything that is more specific to his opinion on interbasin transfers,” Ritter said.
Beauprez campaign manager John Marshall said the candidate understands the controversy surrounding the practice of transmountain diversions and believes Beauprez has taken a consistent position on the issue.
“Transmountain diversions are a big political boogeyman,” Marshall said.
Beauprez supports basin-to-basin discussions through entities like the roundtable created by the state Legislature last year. He is opposed to the type of situation where one basin “is dragged to the table,” Marshall said. Beauprez believes there are lot of things basins can do to solve water issues, but he is not completely opposed to transmountain diversions, Marshall said.
“We just don’t need to go down that path right now,” he said.
Gunnison County resident Ken Spann, a strong voice on Western Slope water issues, said he was concerned about Beauprez’s position. Spann, through the Upper Gunnison River Water Conservation District, is heavily involved in defeating the Union Park Project, which proposes transferring large quantities of Gunnison basin water to the Front Range.
“The reason so many civic groups, business leaders, elected bodies and ultimately the voters opposed Referendum A in every single county in the state was because it was bad for Colorado,” Spann said in a released statement. “It clearly would have pitted Western and Eastern Colorado against one another. Congressman Beauprez was out of touch with what a clear majority of Coloradans were thinking, which raises questions about his experience and understanding of these issues.”
Ritter said he thinks the Front Range can confront its water needs through conservation, reuse and other practical methods and said the Front Range should not use Western Slope water to solve the problem.
“We must tackle our water needs with achievable solutions, not politically expedient rhetoric,” Ritter said in a released statement.
He said he believes water will be one of the key issues during the gubernatorial campaign.
“I think they (water issues) should play a big role,” Ritter said.
Contact James Shea via email at Jamess@montrosepress.com
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