Colorado water officials will gather in Durango this week to decide whether a pair of powerful Colorado River rights can be used to benefit the environment.
The Colorado River District, supported by a broad Western Slope coalition, has entered into a $99 million agreement with Xcel Energy to buy two key water rights tied to Shoshone Power Plant, located on the Colorado River near Glenwood Springs. Part of the deal is to add a newly approved use to the existing water rights: keeping water in the river to help the aquatic ecosystem.
That environmental use, called an in-stream flow right, requires approval from a state water agency, the Colorado Water Conservation Board. If the board decides not to add the Shoshone rights to its Instream Flow Program, the Colorado River District would have to start from scratch. Its goal is to maintain the status quo flows permanently to have greater water security on the Western Slope.