Historic Colorado River agreement to preserve flow progress after receiving key approval from state water board

A yearslong effort to purchase two of the most powerful water rights on the Colorado River has cleared a new hurdle after the state water board agreed to manage the rights jointly with Western Slope water officials.

The Colorado Water Conservation Board voted unanimously Wednesday evening to include the two water rights associated with the Shoshone Power Plant in its environmental flow program. The approval is a crucial part of the Colorado River District’s $99 million deal with the owner of the aging Glenwood Canyon plant — Xcel Energy — but the deal has faced pushback from Front Range water suppliers, who fear the change could impact their supplies.

The deal’s proponents want to ensure that the water now used by the small hydroelectric plant – and then pumped back into the river – will always flow westward.

“The importance of today’s vote cannot be overstated as a historic decision for Colorado waters and the Western Slope,” Andy Mueller, general manager of the Colorado River District, said in a news release. “It provides an essential foundation for the health of the Colorado River and the communities it supports.”

Colorado water officials called the decision a monumental achievement for the state that will help protect the river and its ecosystem. The the state’s instream flow program allows the Water Conservation Board to manage specific water rights for the health of rivers, streams and lakes.

“Acquiring Shoshone water rights for stream use is a unique opportunity to preserve and enhance the natural environment of the Colorado River,” Dan Gibbs, executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources, said in a news release.

One of the main sticking points during the hour-long meeting Wednesday was whether the board should manage water rights with the River District. That would include decisions about how and when to require upstream users — such as Front Range companies — to send more water downstream. In general, the board is the sole manager of water rights in its country instreamflow programof which Shoshone rights are now a part.

Several Western Slope entities said they would withdraw their financial support for the purchase if the Colorado River District was not allowed to co-manage the right with the board. Local governments and other organizations on the Western Slope pledged more than $16 million for the purchase.

Front Range water providers argued that the statewide board is the only authority that can administer such rights and should have final decision-making power.

The water board instead adopted the co-management strategy, meaning the two authorities will decide together how to act if there is not enough water to meet the obligations of the right.

The Colorado River District — a taxpayer-funded agency dedicated to protecting the Western Slope’s water — wants to purchase the Shoshone rights to ensure that water will continue to flow west past the plant and downstream to the cities, farms and others that rely on the Colorado River, even if the century-old power plant were decommissioned.

A stream of Western Slope elected officials, water managers and conservation groups testified in support of the deal and the rare opportunity it presented.

“The Shoshone Call is one of the great stabilizing forces on the river – a heartbeat that has kept our valley farms alive, our communities intact and our economies stable even in lean years,” said Mesa County Commissioner Bobbie Daniel, urging the board to approve the plan.