Colorado Water Congress

09/01/2026

Now that we’ve had a fantastic Summer Conference, we’re looking forward to our Annual Convention!

For our 2027 Annual Convention, we are pleased to announce we will once again partner with the Hyatt Regency Aurora-Denver! Thanks to their well-designed events space, easy proximity to highways, and the support of their fantastic staff, we are excited to work with them again.

This area of the Denver metro area has grown greatly over the past several years thanks to the world-class hospital system nearby, and the growing cultural cachet of east Denver. Fantastic restaurants like the African market Mango House, high-end Ukranian Molotov Kitschen, and upscale diner The Common Good are an easy drive away. Several high-end shopping centers are available for perusal, and the immediate area around the hotel is more built up with sidewalks, street lights, and new buildings each year.

Make sure you mark your calendars to join us once again in January 2027.

08/31/2026

Last week, the State of Nevada filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in U.S. district court after the federal government recently released operational guidelines for Lake Powell and Lake Mead in the Colorado River System.

Further details are provided in this news report by The Colorado Sun below.

Nevada officials pointed directly at Colorado and upstream states in comments Monday, saying water cuts need to be shared by everyone.

08/27/2026

Congratulations to the joint winners of the 2026 Colorado Water Congress Impact Award - Stephen Foster, Jake Kunugi, and Chris Wolff!

These three young men currently co-chair our POND (Professional, Outreach, Networking and Development) Committee. POND is the year-round networking and social arm of CWC – offering a friendly place for those in the water community looking to get to know others in the industry.

Through their leadership, POND’s presence has greatly grown at our events, and will continue to grow as they put their time, energy, and resources towards including more and more water folks at their events throughout the year.

Thank you Stephen, Jake, and Chris for all you do!

08/26/2026

Save the Date: Our 2027 Annual Convention will take place January 27-29, 2027 at the Hyatt Regency Aurora-Denver Conference Center!

Registration will open October 2026; in the meantime, keep up-to-date on the event at https://www.cowatercongress.org/conferences/annual-convention/

08/25/2026

Congratulations to our 2026 Aspinall Award Winner, Mike Applegate!

Mike Applegate was the CEO, president and major shareholder in the Applegate Group, Inc., a consulting engineering firm specializing in water resource services in the Western United States. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering from Colorado State University and was a water resources engineer working on planning, water rights evaluation, river basin modeling and design.

Applegate served as a Northern Water Board of Director from 1991 to 2023, serving 35 years total and 25 of those years as President of the Board.

In addition to the Aspinall Award, Applegate was honored with the 2023 Board Member of the Year Award by the Special Districts Association. He received the George Washington Award for Community Service from the American Council of Engineering Companies in 2005, and was named Engineer of the Year by the Professional Engineers of Colorado in 1993.

Applegate grew up on a ranch in the mountains west of Fort Collins and learned irrigation via manual labor. In 1972, he filed a water court application for the family ranch and decided to pursue a water resources engineering degree. Applegate worked as a consulting engineer his entire 36-year career.

Please join us in offering Mike Applegate our warmest congratulations!

Photo 1: Mike Applegate with his Aspinall Award Art

Photo 2: Mike Applegate with past Aspinall winners

Photo 3: Mike Applegate accepting his award

Photo 4: Mike Applegate with his family

08/24/2026

Thanks to all who attended and made our 2026 Summer Conference such a success! This was our largest Summer Conference yet, with a full slate of engaging content in the gorgeous alpine setting of Steamboat Springs.

We hope you'll join us at the 2027 Annual Conference in Aurora! Keep an eye out for registration opening later this fall 👀

Photo 1: R to L, Amy Ostdiek, Becky Mitchell, and Lance Ullman giving an update on the Colorado River

Photo 2: This year's Women in Water Scholarship recipient, Tayla Wideman of Eaton, speaking with Christine Arbogast and former winners Lane Simpson and Leah Mickelson on stage

Photo 3: Phil Brink speaking with Greg Peterson on the Colorado Ag Water Alliance

Photo 4: Travis Smith unveiling the Aspinall Award for Mike Applegate with last year's winner Russ George far left

Photo 5: Panelists for the Rye Resurgence Project, L to R Scott Yeates, Marielle Cowden, Morgan Neely, Sarah Jones, and Heather Dutton

Photo 6: Sara Fraser (CWC Govt Affairs Manager), Lane Simpson (Water Strategies), Sirinya Frankel (CWC Intern), and Blair Carpenter (CWC Comms)

Photo 7: Mike Ritschard, Nina Waters, and Kristin Green presenting on Drought Impacts on Local Economies

Photo 8: Dawn DiPrince of History Colorado Speaking

Photo 9: Building a Forest Restoration Economy with Jonathan Guerts, Travis Smith, Molly Pitts, Megan Maxwell, Esther Vincent, and Dave Payne

08/17/2026

For her last stop on the summer tour, our intern visited Colorado Icon, Coors Brewery in Golden! Here's what she had to say:

"Thank you so much to Neal Santangelo, the Senior Manager of Water Resources for Molson Coors Brewing Company, for hosting me last week!

It was wonderful to tour the diversion infrastructure, ditches, and reservoirs on Molson Coors' campus in Golden. I greatly enjoyed learning more about Molson Coors' water operations and how they are not limited to producing their beverages but also help to provide water supplies to a variety of end users. Their work in the renewable energy space was also incredibly interesting and provided greater insight into how the energy and water sectors may overlap. In this same vein, I appreciated getting to attend the commissioning of a new solar farm in Keenesburg which will help provide electricity for Molson Coors. Last but not least, it was great to tour the Eisenhower Tunnel with the Upper Clear Creek Watershed Association to both learn more about water in the transportation sector and to see more of how Molson Coors is connected with other entities through this shared watershed.

Thank you very much again to Neal Santangelo for this fantastic opportunity."

Photo 1: Sirinya and Neal at Eisenhower Tunnel
Photo 2: Sirinya at Coors Lake
Photo 3: Sirinya at Keenesburg Solar Farm

08/13/2026

Thank you to all our fantastic exhibitors at the 2026 Summer Conference:

- Brown and Caldwell
- Colorado River District
- Colorado Special Districts Property and Liability Pool
- CSAFE
- Colorado Water Center
- Colorado Water Conservation Board
- Concrete Canvas
- Gallagher
- Hix Risk Consultants
- JHL Constructors
- Moore Engineering, Inc
- Phillips
- Plummer
- POND
- Rain Enhancement Technologies
- Rainmaker Technology
- Schnabel Engineering
- SourceWater Consulting, LLC
- Special District Association of Colorado
- Survey Systems
- United Water
- Upper Colorado River Endangered Fish Recovery Program
- Upper Yampa Water Conservancy District
- Water Education Colorado

Make sure to stop by their booth and say hello!

08/11/2026

Thank you to the amazing folks sponsoring our 2026 Summer Conference!

Water Buffaloes ($5000+)
- CWRPDA
- Northern Water
- United Water
- Ute Water Conservancy District
- Walton Family Foundation

Diamond Sponsors ($4000)
- Colorado Special Districts Property and Liability Pool
- Rainmaker Technology
- Special District Association of Colorado

Platinum Sponsors ($3000)
- Molson Coors

Gold Sponsors ($2000)
- Colorado River District
- JHL Constructors
- SSR Mining (Cripple Creek and Victor)
- W.W. Wheeler & Associates, Inc
- Western States Ranches

Silver Sponsors ($1750)
- COLOTRUST
- Hazen and Sawyer
- South Metro Water Supply Authority

Bronze ($1000)
- Black & Veatch
- Freese & Nichols
- City of Greeley
- Kogovsek and Associates
- Rain Enhancement Technologies
- Republican River Water Conservation District
- Tri-State

Copper ($750)
- Applegate Group, Inc
- SGM
- Upper Gunnison River Water Conservancy District

Water Champion ($500)
- CDM Smith
- Park County
- Platte Valley Water Partnership
- Rio Grande Water Conservation District
- San Luis Valley Water Conservancy District
- Schnabel Engineering
- City of Thornton
- Wilson Water Group

Supporting Sponsors ($250)
- Dolores Water Conservancy District
- HDR
- Hix Risk Consultants
- Tri-County Water Conservancy District