In a major win for the Western Slope, the Trump administration released $40 million in funding for the purchase of powerful historic water rights on the Colorado River tied to the Shoshone Power Plant.
The Colorado River Water Conservation District, which spans 15 counties in western Colorado, has been leading the charge since 2023 to purchase the water rights from the hydropower facility’s owner, a subsidiary of Xcel Energy, for $99 million. In early 2025, it seemed like they’d soon be ready to write the check when the federal government granted $40 million toward the purchase during former President Joe Biden’s final hours in office.
Days later, the Trump administration froze the funding, pending review to ensure the grant aligned with the incoming president’s policy priorities. The release of the funds a year and a half later marks a significant step forward in the water rights acquisition, which will still take years to complete.
The Colorado River District thanked the state’s congressional delegation and its local coalition for their support.
“By advocating for the Shoshone Water Rights Project in Colorado and Washington, they helped deliver a durable and permanent solution for the entire Colorado River system,” Andy Mueller, the Colorado River District’s general manager, said in the news release.
Western Slope communities want to preserve the way these water rights have historically functioned so water supplies will be more certain and predictable long into the future.
For over a century, the Shoshone water rights have shaped how water flows through the Colorado River and its tributaries, influencing its delivery to Front Range and Western Slope water users.
The power plant, located off Interstate 70 in Glenwood Canyon, has some of the largest, oldest water rights directly on the Colorado River in Colorado. Under water law, this seniority means Shoshone gets its full water supply even in times of shortage.
Because the power plant can demand water year-round, and because it returns all of the water it uses to the river, Shoshone has major benefits for the environment and water users farther downstream. Farmers, ranchers and recreation outfitters can make business decisions with more certainty. The reliable flows protect critical habitat areas for endangered fish species. Downstream cities have better water quality.
Water watchers in western Colorado have worried for years about what would happen to the water rights if the aging facility was shuttered, or if another entity bought the rights and decided to change how, and where, the water flowed.
So they launched the Shoshone permanency project, a yearslong effort that attracted a broad array of supporters and continues to tackle bureaucratic hurdles and opposition from big players in Front Range water.
The Colorado River District and its partners finalized a purchase agreement with Xcel Energy in late 2023 to buy the water rights. But the deal came with fine print.
Under the agreement, the Colorado River District will own the water rights and lease them back to Xcel so the facility can continue to generate hydroelectric power.
The river district also wants to keep Shoshone’s water in the river — not diverted to other uses — whenever the power plant is not generating hydropower. To make that change, the Colorado River District needed approval from the Colorado Water Conservation Board, which it gained in late 2025.
With that approval, the district, Xcel and the conservation board have gone to water court to legally change the rights, another hurdle in the process. That’s where Front Range utilities, like Denver Water and Aurora Water, can hash out their disagreements along with anyone else who has concerns.
(The Colorado River District and the Front Range water managers have agreed that they want to preserve the status quo when it comes to Shoshone’s water rights. They disagreed, however, over how to calculate the real amount of water tied to the rights and who gets to control that water under the new arrangement.)
Over 60 cities, irrigation districts and more submitted requests, called opposition filings, to weigh in on the court case, which could take years to resolve.
To fulfill the terms of the contract, Xcel must still seek approval for the deal from the state’s utility commission, and the district needed to find $99 million.
Enter the federal funding.
The Colorado River District and its partners have gathered over $37.3 million in promised funds from local irrigation districts, cities, towns, universities, utilities and the district itself. In early 2024, the Colorado Water Conservation Board approved another $20 million in taxpayer dollars toward the purchase.
Which means — after over a year of nail-biting — the federal funding will almost entirely close the funding gap and fulfill a major requirement in the purchase agreement.
“This is a major step forward for Western Colorado and an important step toward protecting one of the most critical water resources in our region,” U.S. Rep. Jeff Hurd, a Republican of Grand Junction, said in a news release Friday. “The Shoshone water rights are foundational to the long-term health of the Colorado River system and essential to the farmers, ranchers, municipalities, and communities that depend on reliable water supplies.”
The funding will come from the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act, which included $4 billion to mitigate the impacts of drought in the Colorado River Basin. Of the grants originally awarded by the Biden administration, seven have had their funding unfrozen, according to a news release from Sen. John Hickenlooper’s office. Nine other drought projects remain unfunded.
“We all pushed the Trump administration to release this Upper Basin funding because Colorado is facing a water crisis,” Hickenlooper, a Colorado Democrat, said in the release.
The state’s entire congressional delegation has called on the Trump administration to release funding for water projects in Colorado, saying the projects will help combat drought impacts across the entire Colorado River Basin, which includes seven states, 30 tribal nations and parts of Mexico.
“This is a big day for one of the most important water conservation efforts in our state’s history,” U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, a Colorado Democrat, said in a news release. “Today’s announcement is thanks to the hard work of bipartisan leaders across the Western Slope who fought for years to move this project forward.”
Hence then, the article about trump administration releases 40 million for historic colorado river water rights purchase was published today ( ) and is available on Colorado Sun ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Trump administration releases $40 million for historic Colorado River water rights purchase )
Also on site :