Allow the Colorado River District to buy Shoshone water rights

As governors of the great state of Colorado, we have faced dozens of issues every day that require attention and action. One of the most challenging issues has been water, in large part because in Colorado, water touches almost every other issue: growth, economic opportunity, our critical agricultural sector, landscapes, open space, the environment, quality of life, tourism and recreation. Water is the cornerstone of the health and well-being of every family in the state.

Add to all this the complexity of our water distribution system and watercraft, and you begin to understand how complex water policy was in Colorado when we served, and why it remains so today.

In the Governor’s office at the Capitol, we have always sought common interests and common ground on water resources. It is rare to find a policy or project that enjoys broad support from a variety of interests. So when something like this happens, it’s important to keep up with it.

That’s why we support the Colorado River District’s efforts to secure and permanently protect the water rights associated with the Shoshone Hydroelectric Project in Glenwood Canyon. For over 100 years, the company we now know as Xcel Energy owned these water rights (some of the most important on the Colorado River). Xcel used this water to generate hydroelectric power and then returned all the water to the river.

Several years ago, the Colorado River District began thinking about how to protect these rights and, through careful planning, analysis, and discussions with hundreds of stakeholders from all parts of the state, has assembled an impressive coalition that supports the District’s purchase of these water rights. for 99 million dollars. Xcel Energy’s subsidiary, Colorado Utilities Company, was a strong and willing partner in bringing this transaction to the benefit of the state.

A broad coalition of West Slope interests including counties, cities, elected officials, water districts, water providers, conservationists, recreation groups and businesses has raised more than $55 million so far.

Joining the majority of our congressional delegation and a bipartisan group of state legislators, we also support the River District’s application for a funding opportunity from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) to mitigate environmental drought in the Upper Colorado River Basin, known as Bucket 2E. The River District is finalizing its application package, which is due by November 22nd. If successful, these dollars will go a long way toward filling the remaining funding gap.

Beyond the USBR proposal, additional work remains to be done to make this historic opportunity a reality. For example, the River District is working with the Colorado Water Conservation Board to beneficially use river flows for water rights so that historic river flows are always preserved.

Additionally, as noted above, like any other water transaction in Colorado, it will have to go through a water court to ensure that the transaction does not harm other entities and water rights.

Finally, the remaining funding, in addition to the federal support received, must be secured in the next couple of years.