Durango Herald: My great-grandfather moved to Kiowa County from Illinois and began our family’s ties to rural Colorado in the late 1800s. Modern technology has changed our lives and most certainly how we work the land. That earlier snow melt, increased evaporation and drier soils will reduce runoff for most of the Colorado’s water basins, with a 5 percent to 20 percent loss just in the Colorado River Basin by 2050 alone. One thing that hasn’t changed is how critical water is to making a living …