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The Colorado Supreme Court's ruling last week on recreational water rights underscores the need for legislation I am carrying in the General Assembly this session. My Senate Bill 62 ensures that recreational in-channel diversions of Colorado's rivers don't upset the delicate balance among the many competing demands on our state's most precious natural resource.

My legislation defines and provides the statutory parameters for in-channel recreational use that, according to the court ruling, the Colorado Water Conservation Board incorrectly applied. SB 62 aims to shore up the historic rights recognized under water laws that have worked well in Colorado for more than a century. The bill looks out for all the users of our reservoirs, rivers and streams while also making sure none of their uses is jeopardized by future uses downstream, including in lower-basin states.

The bill would not encroach on whitewater recreation. I understand, firsthand, the value of whitewater sports in my hometown of Steamboat Springs as well as its value in Colorado's tourism trade overall. My bill simply ensures that all water uses stay on a level playing field.

Senate Bill 62 is intended to define critical terminology in existing law and provide some reasonable parameters for recreational diversions before it's too late. If we don't act now, those diversions could threaten not only rural needs for water but also the needs of the cities that are currently trying to support recreational water uses. We're all in this together. For the sake of future generations in our communities, we must work to avoid gridlock on our water ways -- and an end-run on a system of water laws that have served Colorado well for a very long time.

State Sen. Jack Taylor

Steamboat Springs