Colorado Lawmakers seek federal funding to purchase Shoshone water rights

A group of 16 Colorado lawmakers are seeking federal support in purchasing the Shoshone water rights on the Colorado River. The bipartisan legislators sent a letter on Tuesday, Oct. 1 to U.S. Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, asking them to help secure federal funding to help with the $99 million purchase.  

“We are calling on you to advocate for this project and to encourage federal investment in the permanent protection of the Shoshone water rights,” the letter reads. “In addition to regional and statewide benefits, the federal government benefits greatly, both economically and hydrologically, from the preservation of the historic flows associated with the Shoshone water rights.”

House Speaker Julie McCluskie was among the lawmakers who signed the letter. In a statement, McCluskie wrote that “now is the time to seize this moment, leverage the investment the legislature has made, and secure these critical Colorado River flows for future generations.” 

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The Shoshone Power Plant in Glenwood Canyon has the oldest and largest non-consumptive water rights on the Colorado River. The rights account for 1 million acre-feet of water a year flowing through the upper reaches of the Colorado River, down through Glenwood Canyon and all the way out to the state line. 

While the effort for the Colorado River Water Conservation District to secure these flows has been a decades-long process, the organization struck a deal with Xcel Energy in December to purchase the rights for $98.5 million. Since then, the district has been working to secure the funding. It has four years to pay for the rights under the current agreement. 

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So far, it has raised around $56.9 million of the nearly $99 million.  

This includes formal commitments from Western Slope governments and water and conservation districts totaling $15.9 million. These commitments include funds from Garfield, Mesa, Eagle, Grand and Summit counties as well as from cities and water, sanitation, irrigation and conservation districts in each of those counties. It also includes a $20 million commitment from the Colorado River Water Conservation District board as well as $20 million from the 2024 water projects bill. 

The district has said that the goal of the acquisition is to preserve the flows as they exist today. At the Colorado River District’s annual water seminar in September, Andy Mueller, the district’s general manager, said the district is committed “to protecting the status quo, not using it to get more water for the West Slope and depriving the Front Range entities of water, that is not the goal of this project.” 

The district is still working to define exactly what the historic operation and use of these flows has looked like, Mueller conceded. 

“We will arrive at the right historic use analysis, and we will be able to protect the importance of those (water users),” he said.

The October letter shares the recreational, agricultural and environmental benefits of preserving the status quo. 

Without the Shoshone water rights, Colorado River flows would be significantly lower, (especially in drought years), diminishing over 250 miles of connected ecosystems that rely on the river’s flows to support Gold Medal fisheries and critical habitat for native, threatened, and endangered fish,” it reads. “These water rights are vital to Colorado’s $11.9 billion agricultural and $14.6 billion recreation economies, which support thriving communities and small businesses on both sides of the Continental Divide.” 

The letter was signed by the following state lawmakers: 

• Speaker Julie McCluskie, D-Dillon
• Sen. Dylan Roberts, D-Frisco
• Sen. Janice Marchman, D-Loveland
• Sen. Jeff Bridges, D-Arapahoe County
• Sen. Perry Will, R-New Castle
• Sen. Cleave Simpson, R-Alamosa
• Sen. Janice Rich, R-Grand Junction
• Rep. Meghan Lukens, D-Steamboat Springs
• Rep. Barbara McLachlan, D-Durango
• Rep. Karen McCormick, D-Longmont
• Rep. Elizabeth Velasco, D-Glenwood Springs
• Rep. Matthew Martinez, D-Monte Vista
• Rep. Mike Lynch, R-Wellington
• Rep. Marc Catlin, R-Montrose
• Rep. Matt Soper, R-Delta
• Rep. Rick Taggart, R-Grand Junction