Western Slope water leaders hope bipartisan support can thaw $40 million in frozen federal money aimed at securing some of the Colorado River’s oldest water rights.
The Colorado River District is spearheading an effort to purchase senior rights from Xcel Energy used at the Shoshone hydroelectric plant in Glenwood Canyon. The water allocated by the rights passes through the facility and back into the river, making them “nonconsumptive” rights, but by purchasing them for $99 million Western Slope leaders hope to ensure that water can continue to flow downstream and avoid the possibility it could be rerouted to Front Range users. The effort to buy the rights raised more than $50 million between the state of Colorado, the River District and more than two dozen entities on the Western Slope.
In January, the federal government announced $40 million worth of support to the project. Just days later, the Trump administration took over, and that money was put on hold.
“I think that has been frozen,” Republican Congressman Jeff Hurd, who represents Colorado’s 3rd Congressional District, said in response to a question about the grant during a tele-town hall event on March 11. “Just know that we are working hard behind the scenes to see what we can do to make sure that that funding is allocated and completed.”
Andy Mueller, general manager for the Colorado River District, said the group anticipated delays in the funding from the start on account of the changing administrations. But, because the group has been working on pooling the money in advance, they’re not being left high-and-dry by the funding freeze just yet.
“We're one of the fortunate grantees, if you will, in that situation. I know there are a lot of grantees who were actually engaged in digging dirt and had hired staff in anticipation of grants,” Mueller said. He noted the deal is still pending a water court change case, giving the Shoshone purchase deal extra runway to haggle over the federal contribution.
“We anticipate being done sometime by the end of 2026, maybe midway through 2027. And so we actually have some time and some breathing room. And maybe that's why we're a little bit more relaxed about swings in Washington right now. And I think we're hopeful that, again, that when the dust settles this program, this effort will remain funded,” Mueller said, adding that Colorado’s U.S. Senators, Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper, have also been working to re-secure the grant funds along with Hurd.
The funding came through President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and was halted during the Trump Administration’s sweeping pause on previously allocated spending.
Hurd, who was elected to his first term in Congress this November, is from Grand Junction where multiple entities have contributed to the pool of money to purchase the water rights. The city of Grand Junction and Mesa County each contributed $1 million for the effort, while Colorado Mesa University poured in another $500,000.
Hurd said during the town hall the local support demonstrated the importance of the mission.
“It means a lot to me that it's not just the federal government putting up the money, but there's state and local partners that are doing it as well. That means a lot to me as your federal legislator, is that you all have some skin in the game as well. Know that that will be a top priority for me in this Congress, making sure that we secure that funding so we can get that water right and make sure that we protect that most precious asset in Western Colorado.”
