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The Colorado River at the Shoshone Power Plant, June 2024.
The Colorado River at the Shoshone Power Plant, June 2024.
The Biden administration announced Friday that the Colorado River Water Conservation District has been awarded $40 million, which will help the district and its partners close in on the finish line for purchasing the Shoshone water rights from Xcel Energy.
The district still needs about $3 million to reach its $99 million goal. Lindsey DeFrates, the district’s spokesperson, told Colorado Politics that they’ve been focused on the federal funding but will now turn their attention to the last fundraising to complete the purchase.
The deal between Xcel Energy and the Colorado River Water Conservation District in 2023 means the river district will take ownership of a million acre-feet of water annually in perpetuity. It won’t add water to the Colorado River but will ensure that the river flows remain healthy for decades. That’s more water than is stored in Blue Mesa Reservoir, the state’s largest reservoir.
The deal, which has been 20 years in the making, taps the state’s largest and most senior non-consumptive water on the Colorado River. This right dates to 1902 and is known as the Shoshone rights. It is named for the Xcel power plant just east of Glenwood Springs. The water flows through the turbines at the Shoshone power plant.
The plant has served as grid support to Xcel’s electric system on the Western Slope. It is an asset as the utility seeks to satisfy Colorado’s policymakers’ push for a transition from fossil energy.
A statement from the district Friday said, “This investment supports efforts of the Colorado River District, the state of Colorado, and a coalition of West Slope governments and water users to secure Western Colorado’s top water priority: the permanent protection of the water rights associated with the Shoshone Power Plant in Glenwood Canyon.”
The federal funds came through the Inflation Reduction Act’s Upper Colorado River Basin Environmental Program, known as B2E, which is money dedicated to projects that will mitigate the impacts of drought and support ecosystems throughout the Colorado River Basin, the district said. They saluted the efforts of U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Denver, in helping to secure those funds.
Colorado River District Board President Kathy Chandler-Henry said the award “is a huge step forward in what is a continuing effort, and we are thankful for the leadership shown by the Bureau of Reclamation in bringing these critical funds to West Slope communities.”
Gov. Jared Polis said in a statement Friday, “The Colorado River is a lifeline for the Western Slope and the thousands of Coloradans who call it home. This support for the Shoshone water rights is a huge step towards ensuring that the river will continue flowing to western Colorado farmers, ranchers, communities, and businesses.”
State lawmakers also cheered the last significant step in securing those water rights.
A year ago, the Colorado Water Conservation Board voted to contribute $20 million toward the purchase, with funding from the General Assembly’s annual water projects bill.
Other partners in the deal include Garfield County ($3 million), the Eagle River Water & Sanitation District and Upper Eagle Regional Water Authority ($1 million), the city of Glenwood Springs ($2 million), $20 million from the district’s Community Funding Partnership, a tax approved by local voters in 2020; and $4 million from Eagle, Mesa and Grand counties.
House Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon, said in a statement Friday, “From agriculture and outdoor recreation to protecting natural habitats and supporting local economies, securing our water future is essential.” McCluskie thanked the Shoshone Water Rights Preservation Coalition, the governor, Colorado’s federal delegation, and the Biden administration.
Sen. Dylan Roberts, D-Frisco, whose district includes Glenwood Springs, said: “Permanently protecting the Shoshone water rights is absolutely critical for the future of water security on the Western Slope and for the entire state, and today’s announcement of a $40 million federal investment that will close the financial gap to secure the right is monumental win for Colorado.”
“Permanent protection of the Shoshone water rights is a multi-generational investment in our farms and ranches, and our thriving rural economies,” said Sen. Marc Catlin, R-Montrose.
Rep. Elizabeth Velasco, D-Glenwood Springs, said the investment is key to protecting Colorado’s water future and will also protect Colorado’s way of life on the Western Slope.
The Colorado Water Conservation Board noted the $40 million for Shoshone was part of $177 million awarded to Colorado Friday from the Biden administration and the Inflation Reduction Act. Additional funding went to the Upper Rio Grande Basin for drought resiliency activities ($24.9 million); drought mitigation in the San Juan basin ($25.6 million), $10.5 million or the Orchard Mesa Irrigation district for the 15-Mile Reach; $4.6 million, also to the Colorado River District, for drought resiliency; and $32.6 million to Grand County for its wildfire ready action plan.
In a joint statement Friday, Bennet noted “The Inflation Reduction Act provided historic funding to address drought, restore the health of our watersheds, and invest in the future of the American West. I’m glad the Biden-Harris administration answered our calls to support the water security of critical basins across the state from the Rio Grande Basin to Southwest Colorado.” He noted the funding will bring the project closer to “fulfilling a long-standing goal of Coloradans to protect the environmental, economic, and agricultural resources of the State’s namesake river.”
Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Denver added that the Inflation Reduction Act was passed to tackle long-term aridification of the West “head-on. That’s exactly what these new federal investments dom=,” he said. “They’ll preserve historical Colorado River flows, help manage drought impacts on Upper Basin ecosystems, and improve water supply resiliency on the Upper Rio Grande.”
The Upper Colorado River Commission recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation that will require the bo…
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