New Hispanic group mobilizes around Colorado River

DENVER — Hispanic leaders in the West have formed a new group called Nuestro Rio to focus attention on the Colorado River, which has sustained generations of Latinos.

The Colorado River system provides municipal water for more than 30 million people in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming and Mexico, but climate change, drought, population growth and wildlife needs have heightened competition for the system's limited water supplies.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation is studying future gaps in supply and demand for water from the river system through 2060.

As western U.S. cities propose water projects to claim their share of scarce river water, Nuestro Rio, which is Spanish for "Our River," wants to make sure Hispanic voices are heard.

"This is what's important," said Nita Gonzales, president and chief executive officer of Escuela Tlatelolco Centro de Estudios in Denver. "Oftentimes we are not at the table around environmental issues."

The group has received some funding from the Walton Family Foundation but describes itself as a grass-roots effort, according to Nuestro Rio event organizer Amber Tafoya.

Tafoya, also executive director of the Latina Initiative in Denver, said the river's health might not be as high a priority for Hispanics as jobs, health care and immigration policy, but the availability of water affects all three issues.

"If you don't have water, you're forced to migrate. If you don't have water, you are not in good health. Jobs are hard to do without access to water," she said.

Supporters also are collecting signatures on a letter to Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Michael Connor and political leaders in Colorado River basin states urging them to keep flows from the river strong.

Hispanic ranch and farm workers and owners have long known the importance of the Colorado River for irrigation and livestock, Gonzales said. The idea now is raising the river's profile among Hispanics in urban centers, as their communities review plans for pipelines and reservoirs.

"We're so excited to have Latino leadership saying we need to be part of that conversation and part of the action," Gonzales said.