Thursday, Gov. John Hickenlooper will address his water legacy – the state water plan chief among them – as the Colorado Water Congress moves through the second day of its annual winter meeting.

Hickenlooper will be queried about his views on his legacy in water and the state’s water future by pollster and political analyst Floyd Ciruli during a noon appearance.

Among the topics Ciruli plans to cover:

The last question takes on what is always the stickiest part of any big project: just how much will this cost?

Last summer, the Water Congress took on the issue of the estimated $20 billion cost to fund projects tied to the state water plan, released in 2015. While water providers are expected to shoulder most of that cost, the state’s tab is expected to be around $3 billion. That bill could start to become due in 2020, at around $100 million per year and over the next 29 years thereafter.

Dick Brown, an economist who also works with the Pikes Peak Regional Water Authority, told the Water Congress in August that eight options have surfaced that may provide the path forward to that $3 billion bill.

Those includes hikes in water rates, a beverage container fee, a state sales tax on water-related fixtures, or a boost in water tap fees that connect new homes to utility lines.

Hickenlooper’s address is scheduled to begin at noon at the Hyatt Regency Tech Center.

Photo of the White River by Jeffrey Beall, Creative Commons license, Flickr