Water conference to lead off with flood discussion

LOVELAND — The news in the past few years has almost exclusively been about the lack of water in Northern Colorado and the Boulder Valley, resulting in ever-higher costs for communities and housing developers. Or about the declining fortunes of the flows in the Colorado River, which affects multiple states of the Southwest.

Yet 10 years ago, in September 2013, the news was about too much water as the rivers of the region overflowed their banks, affecting 14 counties, killing 10 people and damaging 26,000 homes.

BizWest’s Confluence — Colorado Water Summit, the only water conference in the region to examine the economic issues surrounding the scarcity of water in the region, will lead off at 8 a.m. Wednesday, July 26, with a review of the 2013 flood and the issues that resulted from that deluge.

Alex Hager from public radio station KUNC will moderate a panel that includes Sean Cronin of the St. Vrain & Left Hand Water Conservancy District; Chloe Lewis, Middle South Platte River Alliance; Hally Strevey, Poudre River Coalition; and John Tracy, Colorado State University Colorado Water Center. 

BizWest has combined its Confluence event with Net Zero Cities, a conference that explores key issues about climate change and sustainability. Confluence topics will dominate the morning with Net Zero Cities topics explored in the afternoon.

A lunch buffet will be served from 11:15 a.m. until 12:45 p.m., during which the two conferences will merge.

Participants can sign up for the day at a rate (through July 21) of $75 or sign up for either of the two conferences individually for $49. The individual conference rate rises to $59 on July 22.

The event will be at the Embassy Suites by Hilton Loveland Hotel and Conference Center, 4705 Clydesdale Parkway in Loveland.Registration and additional conference information can be found here.

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