Lauren Ris was named this week as the next director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board. But she’s an old hand at some of the biggest initiatives of the water board, including as one of the first to work on the state’s water plan in 2015.

She spoke with Colorado Politics shortly after getting the job on a permanent basis about what sparked her interest in water, what’s next, and what gets her out of bed in the morning.

The following interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

FAST FACTS

Born and raised: Littleton, Colo. 

Education: Bachelors in English and environmental science from Willamette University, Oregon; master’s degree in natural resource policy and conservation biology from the University of Michigan. Also spent time in Seattle and Washington, D.C. but realized “there’s no place like home” and came back to Colorado in 2007.

First job in the field: Worked on a salmon recovery effort for Chinook salmon in Washington State.

First job in Colorado: Working at the Getches-Wilkinson Law Center, University of Colorado law school, where she ran a program on collaborative solutions to natural resource issues. Ris then went to work at the Colorado Legislative Council as a staffer for the agriculture committees, the interim water resources review committee and on redistricting, in 2011. She was recruited by the Department of Natural Resources in 2012 as a legislative liaison for the department’s parks and wildlife and forestry divisions.

Ris joined the Division of Water Resources as assistant director of water around 2015, where she worked on the state’s first water plan, and then moved on to the water board in 2017 as deputy director. 

Family: Younger brother who just retired from the Air Force and will become a test pilot for United Airlines; mother is a psychologist, dad is a water resources engineer for URS Corporation. 

Colorado Politics: What got you interested in water and natural resources?

Ris: It came at a very young age, growing up in Colorado. Skiing, hiking, camping with my family, appreciating that unique quality of life. Even as a kid I understood there was something special about living in Colorado and having access to so many great activities in the natural resources area. I took that with me to college in Oregon, which has a similar ethic on the importance of having a quality of life around natural resources and access and activities.

The special thing about water, in contrast to other natural resource issues, there’s a real opportunity for collaboration. I know that sounds cliche, but it’s really not a partisan issue. Every sector in Colorado depends on having clean access to water: the recreation economy, our ag economy, thriving municipalities. Everyone depends on water in the state of Colorado. It’s a scarce resource, but that’s what makes it exciting to work on. It’s not a “yes/no” answer. We have to work together to find solutions that work for everybody.

CP: What gets you excited to get up in the morning?

Ris: Beyond coffee? The people who work in water in Colorado are phenomenal. Not just within the water board, which attracts such a high calibre of people, but more broadly speaking, water brings the best of Coloradans to the table. They’re passionate about it, eager to find creative solutions to hard problems. I’m so inspired by that. Water is so important to everything we do, but it’s really the people I find inspiring. It’s a tricky natural resource problem, but the people who bring their hearts and minds to that issue are a tremendous value to the state of Colorado and an amazing resource.

CP: Who have you looked up to throughout your career? Who has been your mentors?

Ris: Not just one. Becky Mitchell and I have such a close working relationship. She’s the former director of the water board and now has been named the full-time Upper Colorado River Commissioner. She’s passionate, brilliant, hard-working and a friend and a mentor. She and I will continue to be in close alignment when it comes to protecting and defending Colorado’s interest on the Colorado river.

Mike King, the former director of the Department of Natural Resources has always been a friend to me and provided helpful guidance in navigating tricky problems. I really value his input. Russ George: How can you have a conversation in Colorado without mentioning Russ George, the grandfather of the Basin roundtable process and the Interbasin Compact Committee has contributed so much to where we are today in Colorado water. John Stulp, former ag commissioner and water czar under Gov. Hickenlooper. I just talked to John a week ago, he’s such as statesman, similar to Russ George. Cleave Simpson has been an amazing partner in the General Assembly. Julie McCluskie also a very dedicated public servant. I look forward to continuing working with them.

CP: Where do you see the water plan going? 

Ris: We just updated the water plan and released it in January. I’m excited about the content of the water plan. The difference between the 2015 plan and this one is that there’s tangible concrete actions that we’ve committed to as a state, both the water board and sister agencies, check boxes that we’re going to make tangible progress on. I’m super excited about doing that, and telling the story about the progress we’re making.

As it relates to funding, sports betting revenue is a dedicated, stable funding resource that goes directly into water projects. We get the majority of the tax revenue that comes from Proposition  DD, sports betting revenue. Projections from that have really blown us away. We’re talking about for next year or two, upwards of $25 million to $28 million, a resource we haven’t had. We’ve had to rely primarily on severance tax, which is volatile and difficult to plan year to year and plan for what that looks like. The sports betting revenue will really help even that out and provide a stable resource for grant programs, which is how we get so much of our work done, leveraging the resources partners bring to the table.

The other funding source I’m super excited about is developing a strategy around all the federal funding available from the Inflation Reduction Act and the bipartisan Infrastructure Act, both signed last year. There’s some complications around that, a significant amount of funding set aside for the Upper Basin Colorado river drought resiliency efforts, trying to think very carefully with our partners at the Upper Colorado River Commission about how we can maximize that funding and make sure it goes to projects that will make a difference.

I think there’s a bigger question about what will be the long-term stable funding that will provide for Colorado water projects for the next several decades, but in the short term things are looking pretty positive, with sports betting revenue and federal funding.

CP: I can’t not ask about demand management. The water board spent time looking at it and then set it aside. 

Ris: The water board did spend two years taking a hard look at a variety of angles related to demand management and what that might look like for Colorado: what’s feasible, advisable and frankly whether there was a willingness from water rights holders in Colorado to participate in such a program. We put a lot of resources – staff, time and money – into that investigation. The water board did not shelve it. We recognize that within the greater context of that conversation to approve a demand management program requires the consent of all the Upper Basin states on the Colorado. It’s not something we can do alone. We were outfront among Upper Basin states in investigating that effort, but rightly recognized we needed to pause, wait for the other states to catch up 

Now we’re in a situation where there are other federal processes at play. The Bureau of Reclamation is starting to evaluate the need to renegotiate the guidelines for how lakes Powell and Mead operate. We’re putting a lot of time into that effort right now, and supporting Becky in her roles in those negotiations. It’s a layered conversation. From my perspective, I want to make sure we’re cognizant of efforts at the federal level, that we’re not taking actions in Colorado that will hamstring us in our relationships with the other Basin states or the processes at play with the Bureau of Reclamation. 

Demand management is still very much on the table. It’s a matter of timing and interest from our stakeholders.

FUN FACTS

Favorite professional sports team: The Colorado Rockies, although more from sentimental attachment going back to their first games back in 1993 (and not their current record). 

Fishing? Not an avid angler, but is looking forward to learning how to fly fish with Paul Bruchez (the water board’s vice chair). 

Favorite musician? Loves Brandi Carlisle, also likes Taylor Swift (calling it something of a guilty pleasure) and bands no one has heard of, such as Yumi Zouma (a New Zealand alternative pop band) and Gregoruy Alan Isakov (A South African-born singer-songwriter currently based in Boulder).