Arkansas Basin Plan

Basin Context:
The Arkansas River originates in the central mountains of Colorado near Leadville, then travels eastward through the southeastern part of Colorado toward the Kansas border. The Arkansas Basin is spatially the largest river basin in Colorado, covering slightly less than one-third of the state’s land area. A large amount of land is devoted to agriculture, with one-third of agricultural lands requiring irrigation. Increasing urbanization is occurring throughout portions of the Arkansas Basin, and in the recent past, persistent drought has heavily affected the basin.

BIP Update Background & Next Steps:
Following on the heels of the release of the Colorado Water Plan in 2015, staff began working on the next update to the statewide water supply initiative or SWSI. The next SWSI effort was rebranded as the Analysis and Technical Update to the Colorado Water Plan (Technical Update) after gathering roundtable input and realizing that SWSI and the Basin Implementation Plans (BIPs) are core components of the Colorado Water Plan (Water Plan).

The Arkansas Basin Roundtable's BIP was first developed prior to the release of the Water Plan and is being updated as part of the larger BIP and Colorado Water Plan (Water Plan) update. As with the other basins, the BIP is slated to be completed in 2021 and will fold into the Water Plan update that's scheduled for completion in 2022.

Like the Technical Update, the BIPs and Water Plan will follow a similar format of having a shorter more accessible Volume 1 strategy document and a longer Volume 2 document that will contain the original BIP and other supporting information.