We’d like to offer a celebratory toast (with water in our glasses, of course) to Rep. Ken Buck.

Buck accomplished a rare feat these days in an increasingly divided Washington. He got a bill to pass the House unanimously. More importantly, it is a substantive bill that will make a real difference in the lives of farmers and others who rely on water from local water districts.

The measure – called the WATER Act – passed Tuesday. If it meets a similar fate in the Senate and once it arrives on the president’s desk, it will amend the tax code to allow mutual irrigation and ditch companies to reinvest revenue earned from non-member sources. Essentially, the bill would allow water supply and storage companies, like ditch companies, to maintain their nonprofit status even if more than 15 percent of their revenue comes from non-members.

That may sound boring and bureaucratic, but farmers rely on water from these ditch companies, and we all rely on farmers. The current tax code can cause problems for water districts that sell outside of membership, such as to oil and gas companies.

Read more at greeleytribune.com