Garfield County commissioners on Monday signed a letter urging the U.S. Department of the Interior to finalize its $40 million share of funding for the Colorado River District’s planned purchase of the Shoshone water rights on the Colorado River. 

The Colorado River District, which represents 15 counties on Colorado’s Western Slope, including Garfield, is a government agency that works to protect water interests on the Western Slope and in the Colorado River Basin.

In 2023, the River District and Xcel Energy completed a purchase agreement for the water rights held by Xcel’s Shoshone Hydroelectric Power Plant in Glenwood Canyon. The Shoshone water rights are considered both the most senior (1902) and junior (1929) nonconsumptive water allocations on the upper Colorado River, according to Keep Shoshone Flowing. 

The $98.5 million deal aims to transfer the water rights to the Colorado River District while preserving the historic flows. So far, the district has raised over $57 million for the purchase, including $3 million from Garfield County. However, $40 million allocated for the project through the Inflation Reduction Act and awarded by the Biden Administration in January is currently on hold. 

“If the Shoshone water rights disappear, that burden will fall squarely on the backs of farmers, ranchers and families from Grand County to Grand Junction and beyond,” the letter states. “On the other hand, without Shoshone’s senior call, municipal water providers in Front Range cities like Denver, Boulder and Fort Collins stand to benefit from more water and more control over the river.”

The letter, addressed to U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, was unanimously approved by the Garfield County Commissioners and voices strong support for the River District’s acquisition. 

“(Protecting) the Shoshone water right is huge,” Commissioner Perry Will told the Garfield County Board of County Commissioners on Monday. “I don’t know if we need to get into all the details of why it’s so huge, but for the Western Slope, this is a much needed thing.”

Circulated by Garfield County Commissioner Perry Will and Mesa County Commissioner Bobbie Daniel, the letter has also been shared with other Western Slope counties — including Moffat, Rio Blanco, Delta and Montrose — in hopes of presenting strong regional support for the acquisition. 

“It really is just remaining vigilant and trying to continue to push this forward at DOI. I think this letter, along with the letter that Congressman Hurd recently sent and some meetings that we’ve got scheduled in the coming months, will be a continuation of that effort,” Zane Kessler, director of government relations at the Colorado River District, told commissioners on Monday. “So we appreciate your continued leadership on this.”