The Colorado River District announced last Friday that the Bureau of Reclamation will move forward with a $40M award to go towards the District’s purchase of the Shoshone hydropower water rights. The announcement puts the total fundraising for the water rights at $97M of the $99M price tag.
The Colorado River District has been working tirelessly to make these water rights permanent. Because of the senior nature of these water rights, water use up and down the Colorado River has been built on their foundation, and these are the same rights that provide nearly year-round boating opportunities in Glenwood Canyon. American Whitewater has been a part of a broad and diverse coalition of water users supporting the permanent protection of the Shoshone water rights as an instream flow.
This award from the Bureau of Reclamation makes final a commitment made by the federal government in 2024 to support the purchase. American Whitewater has gone to Washington DC on multiple trips advocating for the funding to be released.
The funding is a critical step towards the Colorado River District finalizing the deal with Xcel Energy. This past November, the Colorado Water Conservation Board unanimously approved the interest in the acquisition of both the junior and senior water rights as an instream flow. These are some of the most senior water rights on the river and keep boatable flows in the river through the entire boating season.