Front Range cities step up opposition to $99 million Colorado River water rights purchase
Western Slope communities, led by the Colorado River District, want to buy the historic Shoshone Power Plant water rights to support their economies. Front Range water providers worry their water supplies could be harmed.
Hugh Carey/The Colorado Sun
Denver, Aurora, Colorado Springs and Northern Water voiced opposition Wednesday to the Western Slope’s proposal to spend $99 million to buy historic water rights on the Colorado River from Xcel Energy.
The Colorado River Water Conservation District has been working for years to buy the water rights tied to Shoshone Power Plant, a small, easy-to-miss hydropower plant off Interstate 70 east of Glenwood Springs. The highly coveted water rights are some of the largest and oldest on the Colorado River in Colorado.
The Front Range providers are concerned that any change to the water rights could impact water supplies for millions of city residents, farmers, industrial users and more. The Front Range providers publicly explained their concerns, some for the first time, at a meeting of the Colorado Water Conservation Board, a state water policy agency.
The proposed purchase taps into a decades-old water conflict in Colorado: Most of the state’s water flows west of the Continental Divide; most of the population lives to the east; and water users are left to battle over how to share it.
“If this proposal were to go forward as presented in the application, it could harm our ability to provide water for essential use during severe or prolonged drought. I think it’s important for the board to understand that,” Jessica Brody, general counsel for Denver Water, told the 15-member board Wednesday.
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