Curry water bill signed into law

DENVER ” Gov. Bill Ritter signed a bill sponsored by Rep. Kathleen Curry (D-Gun­nison) that would give local governments an opportunity to determine whether proposed developments of 50 or more single-family homes have adequate water supplies.

House Bill 1141, which was drafted by Curry, requires developers to demonstrate to local governments, especially municipal-i­ties, that the water supply for their pro­posed development application would be sufficient and stable.

Any decision about whether to accept the developers’ water plan for a proposed development would be up to the local gov­ernment, said Curry, whose district includes Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley. To help local officials make a determina­tion about a proposed development’s water supply, developers would have to submit a report that documents the proposed pro-j­ect’s water demands and supplies.

Information in the reports would have to include an estimate of water demands the development would have when it is built out, a description of the water supply that will serve the project and any water conser­vation efforts that may be implemented.

Those reports would have to be drafted by a professional engineer or a water supply expert, according to text of the legislation.