{"id":13720,"date":"2026-01-30T23:48:48","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T06:48:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/local-leaders-voice-water-concerns-in-meeting-with-rep-jeff-hurd\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T21:40:07","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T03:40:07","slug":"local-leaders-voice-water-concerns-in-meeting-with-rep-jeff-hurd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/local-leaders-voice-water-concerns-in-meeting-with-rep-jeff-hurd\/","title":{"rendered":"Local leaders voice water concerns in meeting with Rep. Jeff Hurd"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"U.S.
U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd meets Monday in Cortez with Montezuma County commissioners and Cortez city officials during a joint discussion on water infrastructure, federal funding funding, health care, emergency services and the proposed Dolores River National Conservation Area. (Courtesy photo)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Water security and infrastructure needs dominated a joint meeting Monday between U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd and local city and county officials, who pressed the freshman lawmaker on long\u2011running concerns about protecting water rights and modernizing critical systems.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe big thing we\u2019ve been working on to be honest with you is the water,\u201d said county commissioner Gerald Koppenhafer. \u201cWe only got about 10 miles, and it\u2019s the only thing we got here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hurd, who represents Colorado\u2019s 3rd Congressional District, said he was there to hear ongoing concerns to bring back to Washington. County officials said they aimed to field whatever questions Hurd had about the proposed Dolores River National Conservation Area, while city leaders pointed to aging water infrastructure.<\/p>\n

Hurd offered several reasons he has not formalized his support for the NCA. He described himself as listening, undecided and cautious, noting that as a new member of Congress he wants to proceed deliberately.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat I am hearing from you is this process has been going on for 15 years, but there are some pieces that I want to make sure I hear. I am just the new guy,\u201d Hurd told the boards Monday at the county\u2019s administrative building in Cortez.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, there is a storm of misinformation,\u201d commissioner Jim Candelaria said. \u201cWhat questions do you have that we need to answer still?\u201d<\/p>\n

If enacted, the NCA would create a special management plan for the river corridor, including provisions for water rights and land uses. The proposal has generated significant public discussion in recent months.<\/p>\n

\"River
River flows past the river trail in Dolores. The Dolores River NCA\u2019s Senate Bill 1787 is sponsored by U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, and it passed the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Dec. 17. (Anna Watson\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Conversation reignited after an op\u2011ed published in The Journal<\/em> in mid\u2011December by Koppenhafer and La Plata County Commissioner Marsha Porter\u2011Norton urged Hurd to introduce the NCA as a House bill.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn June and again in early December, five Southwest Colorado counties \u2013 Montezuma, La Plata, Dolores, San Miguel and Archuleta \u2013 signed bipartisan letters urging you to introduce the Dolores bill as soon as possible. We have repeatedly asked you to represent us on this critical issue and to express why this bill reflects local priorities, respects local needs and balances major uses of the Dolores River,\u201d the article stated.<\/p>\n

The NCA has been a frequent topic in commission meetings, on local Facebook groups and in discussions among county commissioner candidates. Supportive op\u2011eds have continued to appear, including one from a longtime rancher calling the proposal a \u201creasonable compromise\u201d resulting from a yearslong engagement among ranchers, tribes, agricultural producers, conservation groups, recreationists and mining interests.<\/p>\n

Commissioners told Hurd on Monday that the NCA reinforces local control. They said the river\u2019s current federal study status includes provisions that could allow future designation as Wild and Scenic or a national monument, raising concerns about whether federal protections could override local priorities.<\/p>\n

\u201cFundamentally, what gives me heartburn is it feels like there is a threat: Unless you do this there is going to get a federal Wild and Scenic designation pushed down on you or a national monument pushed down on you,\u201d Hurd said.<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cBut man, I don\u2019t like it when the federal government says and demands this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think reality is, at one time, we felt like it was a serious threat,\u201d Koppenhafer replied, recalling the surprise when Canyons of the Ancients National Monument was established. \u201cThat is why we started working on this thing, 15 years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs elected officials, how do I know what our constituents are thinking? When I hear from our county commissioners, that carries significant weight,\u201d Hurd said. \u201cJust know, that my seeming deliberateness is meant to ensure I do this thoughtfully and methodically.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Around
Around 50 residents gathered Monday at the Montezuma County Administration Building in Cortez for the joint meeting. (Photo\/Montezuma County)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
City leaders raise water infrastructure needs<\/div>\n

Shifting to municipal issues, Hurd said he wanted to give city leaders \u2013 whom he was meeting with for the first time \u2013 an opportunity to highlight their most pressing needs.<\/p>\n

City Manager Drew Sanders said Cortez\u2019s priority is funding water\u2011distribution infrastructure, including improvements to deliver treated, drinkable water from McPhee Reservoir to the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have probably heard from them but if not, you will. It is not arriving as drinkable water because of the water chlorination, but we have a stake in that because we do want to deliver clean drinking water,\u201d Sanders said.<\/p>\n

He said Cortez has already invested in parts of the waterline and work continues.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are doing that now and investing as heavily as we can,\u201d he said. \u201cIt will take a lot longer for us to fund it then our needs allow.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hurd later asked city officials what residents complain about most.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen your constituents complain, what is it, is it water?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cParks and Recreation is a big thing here. Especially here in Cortez,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cBut we don\u2019t feel like that is in your federal level.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other priorities addressed: federal funding, freezes<\/div>\n

Commissioners raised concerns about unpredictable federal funding and what they described as an \u201cantiquated\u201d Payment in Lieu of Taxes formula, which they said complicates annual budgeting.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe issue is federal funding has stopped to the state, the state is a lot in the hole, and they just keep throwing it down,\u201d Candelaria said.<\/p>\n

County and city officials also outlined ongoing needs for EMS system upgrades, dispatch improvements and fire\u2011service support across multiple districts and agencies. Eleven agencies operate out of the Cortez Communication Center.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

meeting was held between Hurd and local city and county governments<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13721,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-13720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13720","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13720"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13720\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19125,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13720\/revisions\/19125"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13720"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13720"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13720"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=13720"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}