retired rear admiral eileen laubacher calls for long-term water planning at colorado water congress

Steamboat Springs, CO — Last week, Retired Rear Admiral Eileen Laubacher spoke at the Colorado Water Congress in Steamboat Springs. She addressed the leadership problem contributing to the water crisis in Colorado, and stated that while much of this work appropriately belongs at the state and local levels, Colorado’s 4th District is in need of a much stronger partner in Washington.

“A real partner in Congress can help fund conservation and efficiency improvements in partnership with our communities here, not in opposition to them,” said Retired Rear Admiral Eileen Laubacher. “A real partner in Congress can protect Colorado’s interests when federal policy intersects with interstate compacts. And it can make sure that rural communities aren’t handed expensive federal mandates without the resources to comply.”

Laubacher has spent the last 15 months traveling all across the 4th district, visiting all 21 counties and meeting with farmers, ranchers, water providers, and local leaders to hear directly from them about the water problems that rural Colorado faces and “what Washington gets wrong, over and over again, about rural Colorado.” She pledged to continue working with communities and water managers to develop a list of infrastructure priorities and then aggressively and proactively pursue federal funding to support a long-term solution.

“I want to bring agriculture, municipalities, conservancy districts, water providers, and the state together and ask, ‘What does this base need for the next 50 years, and where can the federal government actually help us get this done?” said Retired Rear Admiral Eileen Laubacher. She continued that a Congressional office “should not just wait for communities to come asking for money — it should convene people, identify priorities, help navigate federal agencies, pursue authorizations and appropriations and make sure Colorado isn’t leaving federal resources on the table.”

Laubacher pledged to work on three goals while in Congress: keep Colorado farms producing, ensure that communities are supplied with safe drinking water, and build the infrastructure Colorado will need for the next 50 years. She also emphasized the need for strong bipartisan work on the issue of water: “Lauren Boebert has repeatedly opposed major bipartisan federal investments that included funding for water infrastructure,” said Retired Rear Admiral Eileen Laubacher. “I would take a different approach. I am willing to work with anyone and everyone who is serious about solving these problems, because we are already behind.”

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