Request Information
Ready to find out what MSU Denver can do for you? We’ve got you covered.
Your Water Your Life Contest Winners!
Amy Nash
Wetland Protection Plan and Conservation Easements
Writing & Literature
Ryan Sawyer
Headwaters to Plains: The South Platte River Basin
Photography
Ryan Sawyer is a junior at Colorado State University studying Biomedical Sciences with a focus in Environmental Public Health and minoring in Sustainable Interdisciplinary Water Studies. Ryan is a 5th generation Coloradan who grew up
In Denver and graduated from Denver East High School. Ryan recognizes the immense value of water in the western US. It was through time spent outside and after attending the High Mountain Institute in Leadville, CO that he became very passionate about water. When Ryan is not in school, you can find him working at Happy Lucky’s Teahouse in old town Fort Collins, rowing on Horsetooth reservoir with the Colorado State Crew Team, hiking or flyfishing throughout the state.
Lukas Migliano
home is where the water is
Film
Tanner Welsh
Acequia Auraria
Engineering & Design
About
The Your Water Your Life (YWYL) contest, spearheaded by the One World One Water Center at MSU Denver, was a statewide effort to connect higher education students with their local water resources through interdisciplinary and intersectional methods. At the OWOW Center, we believe that no issue is not a water issue. Water is connected to everything we do, every career, every interest we hold close, and every path we choose to wander down. The YWYL contest took place through the 2023/2024 academic school year and aimed to provide an opportunity for all students across Colorado to engage with their local water environment and community to showcase how water influences their life by creating a project in one of the below categories.
Students completed questionnaires on the Colorado Water Plan and local Basin Implementation Plans, met various competition deadlines, and their submissions were judged by an interdisciplinary panel of experts. Students chose from a contest category that they connected with most.
Contest Background
“An integrated One Water ethic is necessary to create the transformative change needed to meet the moment and the future.” (Colorado Water Plan Executive Summary 2023)
Colorado Water Conservation Board
The Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) represents each major water basin in the state and other state agencies in a joint effort to use water wisely and protect Colorado’s water for future generations. The CWCB creates and manages the Colorado Water Plan framework, and supports the state’s water community with funding and technical resources to implement programs and projects, like the Your Water Your Life Contest. Please read the below information about the Colorado Water Plan and the Basin Implementation Plans. Contestants will be tested on their knowledge of these plans.
Colorado Water Plan
The Colorado Water Plan, first established in 2015 with an updated plan released in January 2023, provides a framework for helping Colorado meet its water challenges through collaborative action around water development and water conservation. “To achieve these upper-end water savings, Colorado will need to employ every tool – going beyond water conservation and efficiency to embrace a One Water ethic. In the context of the Water Plan, One Water means not only matching the right water to the right use but investing in sustained water conservation efforts and integrated water and land use planning.” (Colorado Water Plan Executive Summary 2023) The Colorado Water Plan is a grassroots effort that focuses on 4 interconnecting key action areas: Vibrant Communities, Robust Agriculture, Thriving Watersheds, and Resilient Planning, and relies on the Colorado water community to identify and implement basin-specific and/or statewide water projects.
Read the full 2023 Colorado Water Plan update here.
Basin Implementation Plans
Basin Implementation Plans are part of the overall Colorado Water Plan. There are 8 Basin Implementation Plans for each of Colorado’s river basins: Arkansas, Colorado, North Platte, Rio Grande, Gunnison, Yampa/White/Green, South Platte, and Southwest. Each plan breaks down challenges and strategies that are specific to each of Colorado’s eight river basins.
Learn more about each of the Basin Implementation Plans here.
Contest Categories
Photo representations of how your life is impacted by water. For example – contestants may choose to shoot natural water resources, water infrastructure, indirect impacts of water or lack thereof.
Create an innovative project that shows a connection to water and the impact it has on life.
Written piece in any genre.
A piece in any medium; drawing, painting, sculpture, etc., featuring water and its impact on your life or your community.
A film of any genre featuring water and its impact on your life or your community.
Landscape design plan, rendering, and/or real-world application of your design highlighting the relationship between water and landscape.
Conduct research on a water related topic of your choosing and determine real world applications from your research.
Create and/or perform a piece of theater, perform a dance, spoken word, or write a song featuring water and its impact on your life or your community.
Creation of a community service project that will make a positive impact for a select population as it relates to water.
Design a water course or water workshop that will educate a target audience.