Who needs all that water anyway?

Hi Colorado Sunday fam!

I’ll make this quick as I, like many of you, have holiday travel on my mind. This year’s trip will take me south on Interstate 25, through stretches of ranchland that have become sprawling subdivisions and communities expanding at a rate that feels shocking — even though similar building spurts are happening up where I live, near the Weld County line.

I am of an age that some of my relatives were among the first wave to new Castle Rock neighborhoods and quickly found themselves showering at the office locker room in Denver and teaching the little kids in the house “If it’s yellow, let it mellow.”

So the thought that first pops into my mind when I roll through these towns today — after “where are all these people coming from?” — is “how is there possibly enough water for all of these houses?” As I learned from Jerd Smith’s cover story today, developers and government planners sure are trying to make certain there is water enough for the next wave of residents. And then some.

The Cover Story

Smaller buckets for bigger subdivisions

As Colorado faces water and housing shortages, new questions are popping up. For decades, cities have required developers to bring in big buckets of water to serve new neighborhoods. But Douglas County has gone in the opposite direction and is allowing developers to set aside less water for new homes. Is that good or bad?

Well, it’s a bit of both. Some communities in that fast-growing region are building houses that use at least 30% less water than has normally been the case. Experts say that is a good thing. Every drop counts.

Will it encourage more growth? Probably, but remember the state is in the midst of a housing shortage, in addition to its water problems. So more homes are needed. But as they are built, as they inevitably will be, experts say, this water-efficiency trend could reduce the pressure to tap rivers and aquifers more often.

Still the reductions in residential water use won’t go a long way toward reducing the big-time water shortages that the state faces, largely because homes are a fairly small player in the consumption of water, and cutting that use back, while laudable, won’t wipe out the shortages Colorado will still face.

READ THIS WEEK’S COLORADO SUNDAY FEATURE

The Colorado Lens

How does that old song go? Sign, sign, everwhere a sign … Our journalists saw a lot of signs of the times and of the season this week. Here are a few of our favorites.

Flavor of the Week

Your ski pass, yourself

The Continental Divide used to be a geological thing. Now, it’s personal. And that’s evident even on the slopes, where Epic, Ikon, Mountain Collective and Indy Pass divide the skiable acres into so many gated communities. Scan the psychographic profiles below to ensure that you’ll ride and shred with your preferred peeps. Sure, the passes are spendy. But it’s just like snorting cocaine. After a while, you don’t even notice how expensive it is.

CHECK OUT MORE OF PETER’S PASS PROFILES

SunLit: Sneak Peek

In “Big Time,” college profs battle to survive amid sports run amok

EXCERPT: Author Rus Bradburd, who gave up coaching college basketball to join academia and pursue writing, began his novel “Big Time” in 2011. He hoped to finish it before the era of big-time collegiate sports ended. He needn’t have worried. Though it took him longer than expected to finish his satire of the fictional Coors State University in Colorado, developments in college sports — and, coincidentally, at the real-life University of Colorado — made it more relevant than ever. This excerpt from his opening chapter describes a campus rebranding in which academic departments work in a support role for the athletic program to ensure their very survival.

READ THE SUNLIT EXCERPT

THE SUNLIT INTERVIEW: Bradburd describes his path from “the worst player in North Park College history” to working as an assistant to some legendary college basketball coaches to finally leaving it all behind to move into a role where he could exercise his longtime instincts to teach and write. But that didn’t mean he swore off college sports. Here’s a slice of his Q&A:

SunLit: The landscape of big-time college athletics has changed dramatically in the last few years with the advent of NIL, conference realignment and other factors. Did that impact your approach to the novel?

Bradburd: I had a sense of urgency when I began writing it in 2011: I wanted to get it finished before the era of big time college sports ended and the satire would be obsolete. Of course, because of NIL and television, sports are more dominant than ever. And I’m conflicted, like so many people who love sports. They’re destroying the mission of our universities, but they’re so great to watch. I’m like the alcoholic who keeps walking by the pub and peeking in the window: Maybe I’ll go inside just for one beer.

READ THE INTERVIEW WITH RUS BRADBURD

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST WITH THE AUTHOR

Sunday Reading List

A curated list of what you may have missed from The Colorado Sun this week.

🌞 A lot of state government programs banked on the flow of cannabis tax revenue. But that income is falling and, Brian Eason explains, it has less to do with consumption in Colorado than the emergence of a product called “intoxicating hemp.”

🌞 Almost as soon as the 8th Congessional District Race was called for Republican Gabe Evans work by Democrats began to unseat him. In two years. Jesse Paul has the list of people who might show up on the ballot. In two years.

🌞 Newly elected Republic U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd supports the idea of returning the Bureau of Land Management HQ to Grand Junction, Jason Blevins reports. And so does our Democratic governor.

🌞 And Janet Buckner makes two recently reelected state senators who say they’ll resign right after they are sworn in Jan. 9. Vacancy committees are standing by, Jesse Paul reports.

🌞 The conventioneers are back in downtown Denver, Tamara Chuang reports, meeting like it’s 2019. What’s up with that?

🌞 Did a water conservancy district in Middle Park make a $1 billion mistake when it gave a large landowner water rights and the ability to build a dam and reservoir for $10? It depends on how you define potential, Michael Booth explains.

🌞 The economic might of the outdoor recreation industry hit $1.2 trillion in 2023 and Colorado is one of the top 10 states stoking the engine, Jason Blevins explains.

🌞 The 71-mile High Line Canal trail should be an asset in every community it touches. Dan England has the story of how the trail Conservancy is trying to make that statement true, particularly along a 28-mile stretch on the northeastern edge of the historic greenway.

Thanks for checking in this morning. We appreciate every link you share with a friend and every recommendation you make to people you think should join the weekly Colorado Sunday crowd. See you next weekend!

— Dana & the whole staff of The Sun

Corrections & Clarifications

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