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‑running concerns about protecting water rights and modernizing critical systems.
“The big thing we’ve been working on to be honest with you is the water,” said county commissioner Gerald Koppenhafer. “We only got about 10 miles, and it’s the only thing we got here.”
Hurd, who represents Colorado’s 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.
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.
“What 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,” Hurd told the boards Monday at the county’s administrative building in Cortez.
“Right now, there is a storm of misinformation,” commissioner Jim Candelaria said. “What questions do you have that we need to answer still?”
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.
Conversation reignited after an op‑ed published in The Journal in mid‑December by Koppenhafer and La Plata County Commissioner Marsha Porter‑Norton urged Hurd to introduce the NCA as a House bill.
“In June and again in early December, five Southwest Colorado counties – Montezuma, La Plata, Dolores, San Miguel and Archuleta – 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,” the article stated.
The NCA has been a frequent topic in commission meetings, on local Facebook groups and in discussions among county commissioner candidates. Supportive op‑eds have continued to appear, including one from a longtime rancher calling the proposal a “reasonable compromise” resulting from a yearslong engagement among ranchers, tribes, agricultural producers, conservation groups, recreationists and mining interests.
Commissioners told Hurd on Monday that the NCA reinforces local control. They said the river’s 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.
“Fundamentally, 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,” Hurd said.
He added: “But man, I don’t like it when the federal government says and demands this.”
“I think reality is, at one time, we felt like it was a serious threat,” Koppenhafer replied, recalling the surprise when Canyons of the Ancients National Monument was established. “That is why we started working on this thing, 15 years ago.”
“As elected officials, how do I know what our constituents are thinking? When I hear from our county commissioners, that carries significant weight,” Hurd said. “Just know, that my seeming deliberateness is meant to ensure I do this thoughtfully and methodically.”
Shifting to municipal issues, Hurd said he wanted to give city leaders – whom he was meeting with for the first time – an opportunity to highlight their most pressing needs.
City Manager Drew Sanders said Cortez’s priority is funding water‑distribution infrastructure, including improvements to deliver treated, drinkable water from McPhee Reservoir to the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe.
“You 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,” Sanders said.
He said Cortez has already invested in parts of the waterline and work continues.
“We are doing that now and investing as heavily as we can,” he said. “It will take a lot longer for us to fund it then our needs allow.”
Hurd later asked city officials what residents complain about most.
“When your constituents complain, what is it, is it water?” he asked.
“Parks and Recreation is a big thing here. Especially here in Cortez,” Sanders said. “But we don’t feel like that is in your federal level.”
Commissioners raised concerns about unpredictable federal funding and what they described as an “antiquated” Payment in Lieu of Taxes formula, which they said complicates annual budgeting.
“The issue is federal funding has stopped to the state, the state is a lot in the hole, and they just keep throwing it down,” Candelaria said.
County and city officials also outlined ongoing needs for EMS system upgrades, dispatch improvements and fire‑service support across multiple districts and agencies. Eleven agencies operate out of the Cortez Communication Center.
