A Western Slope effort to buy powerful Colorado River water rights linked to the Shoshone Power Plant is nearing a financial finish line thanks to an influx of $40 million in federal funding, announced Friday.
The power plant has one of the oldest, largest water rights on the Colorado River in the state — one that shapes how water flows down the Colorado River to the Utah-Colorado border and through the mountains to Front Range communities. Western Slope communities have been angling to secure flows through Shoshone for years. With the federal funds committed, they have raised $96 million of the $99 million needed for the purchase.
For the Colorado River District, the surge of federal funding was a big step forward in a long, multistage process — big enough to celebrate with a bit of champagne at the end of the work day, said Lindsay DeFrates, spokeswoman for the district, which is leading the Western Slope’s effort.
The Colorado River District spans 15 counties and was established by the state to protect the Western Slope’s water resources.
“We are incredibly excited to see this support come from the federal government,” DeFrates said. “It just shows how hard everyone in this coalition has been working to demonstrate that this is worth the investment.”
Shoshone Power Plant, owned by Xcel Energy, sits next to Interstate 70, a few miles east from Glenwood Springs. The plant pulls in Colorado River water, sends it through electricity-producing turbines, and returns it to the Colorado River about 2½ miles downstream.
It uses this water thanks to two water rights. The plant’s older, more senior, right can impact up to 10,600 other upstream water rights, including Front Range providers like Denver Water and Northern Water.
Shoshone pulls water west down the Colorado River, which is key for farmers, communities and a state and federal effort to recover endangered fish populations on the river.
Front Range water providers have made plays for the rights in the past, raising concerns on the Western Slope that the westward flow of water through Shoshone could change depending on who owns the rights.
The Colorado River District struck a deal in 2023 to buy the tiny hydro plant’s water rights from Xcel and lease the water back to the company to generate electricity. If the deal is successful as currently outlined, Shoshone’s rights will become the largest, most influential environmental water right in state history.
The district and its partners argue the deal will maintain the status quo flows, permanently. They say it would increase water security on the Western Slope without changing the current flows to the Front Range.
The Colorado River District’s plan has drawn hawkeyed attention from water players around the state who are keen on protecting their supplies. Any changes to the hydro plant’s rights can have broad ripple effects statewide, from farmers in Greeley to water districts in Grand County and homeowners in Denver.
Some water providers have had their doubts about the deal. In summer 2024, Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District questioned the legality of the Colorado River District’s proposal and whether it was necessary to spend $99 million in taxpayer dollars on the purchase.
“Northern Water recognizes the importance of this action and is hopeful to see the next necessary steps to bring the proposal to the Colorado water court process,” Northern Water spokesman Jeff Stahla said Friday in an email to The Colorado Sun.
The deal has received broad support from farmers, river recreation businesses and officials. Six members of Colorado’s congressional delegation, including Sens. John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet, support the effort alongside state lawmakers and local leaders.
“The importance of securing this water right cannot be overstated. Shoshone’s flows provide crucial water flow that supports agriculture, outdoor recreation and the environment,” Sen. Dylan Roberts, a Democrat from Frisco, said in a news release from the Colorado River District. “This investment will pay enormous dividends for today’s water users and future generations of Coloradans.”
☀️ READ MORE
Woman accused of sparking Colorado wildfire previously threatened to burn her home after losing insurance
3:11 PM MST on Jan 17, 20253:36 PM MST on Jan 17, 2025Lawmakers aren’t allowed to have guns in the Colorado Capitol anymore, but there’s no proactive enforcement
1:39 PM MST on Jan 17, 20251:41 PM MST on Jan 17, 2025An Arctic blast is about to bring dangerously cold air to Colorado. Here’s how to prepare.
7:19 AM MST on Jan 17, 202510:00 AM MST on Jan 17, 2025Dozens of water users, providers and communities are part of the coalition supporting the purchase. The coalition, led by the Colorado River District, has raised $56 million toward the purchase, including $20 million from the state of Colorado.
The federal dollars, allocated by the Bureau of Reclamation, come from the Inflation Reduction Act, the Biden administration’s landmark climate change and health care bill.
The bureau also announced Friday up to $152 million in federal funding for 17 projects in Colorado to support the overstretched Colorado River Basin, increase drought resiliency and restore habitats. Of that, almost $95 million is focused on the Western Slope, according to the Colorado River District.
Raising enough money to buy Shoshone’s water rights from Xcel is just one step, DeFrates said. The river district has until 2027 to raise the remaining $3 million. In the meantime, it will have to nail down the details of the environmental water right in a multistep process through the Colorado Water Conservation Board, then take the proposal through water court and get approval from the Colorado Public Utility Commission.
That’s why at the Colorado River District office Friday in Glenwood Springs, staff members were already focused on what comes next, DeFrates said.
“It is really a historic milestone for this project. It’s an enormous leap forward in securing this funding,” she said. “It puts us really close to the finish line — on that contingency, knowing that there are others still to come.”
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Historic Western Slope water rights purchase receives $40 million surge of federal funding )
Also on site :