Colorado's lawmakers ramp up attention to water issues

The looming crisis on the Colorado River, which supplies water to seven states and feeds the billion-dollar agricultural industries in California, Arizona and Colorado, is prompting Colorado lawmakers to ramp up their attention to water issues.

That includes converting what was once an interim committee that met only a few times a year to look at a limited number of issues to become year-round.

Under Senate Bill 10, sponsored by Senators Jeff Bridges, D-Greenwood Village, and Cleave Simpson, R-Alamosa, the interim water resources and agriculture committee is getting a new name and something of...