DURANGO — Western Slope water officials are asking for more time to negotiate before the state decides whether influential Colorado River water rights can be used to help the environment.
A state water agency, the Colorado Water Conservation Board, is scheduled to make its final ruling Thursday on the future usage of a pair of water rights tied to Shoshone Power Plant, owned by an Xcel Energy subsidiary called Public Service of Colorado.
On Tuesday, the Xcel subsidiary and Colorado River District — the Western Slope water entity leading the effort to use the rights to help the environment — filed an 11th-hour extension to delay the ruling to November.
The 14-hour hearing in Durango will still go forward as scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday.
“The board can choose to have a vote immediately after the hearing ends, but they now have the option to delay a vote until the November meeting,” said Rob Viehl, chief of the Stream and Lake Protection Section at the Colorado Water Conservation Board.
The Colorado River District declined to comment on the request for an extension.
In May, the Colorado River District submitted a proposal for the Colorado Water Conservation Board to add the two Shoshone water rights to its Instream Flow Program. The program aims to keep water in rivers to help aquatic ecosystems, particularly when rivers and streams are flowing at their lowest.
In Shoshone’s case, the water level in the Colorado River falls when the power plant diverts water to generate electricity. It contributes to habitat strain and stresses fish, making them easier prey as they compete for resources.
The Colorado River District has an agreement to buy these two water rights from Xcel Energy for about $99 million. One of the agreement’s provisions is that the rights can be used to keep water in the river when the power plant is not in use.
Shoshone’s water rights, however, are some of the most powerful on the Colorado River in Colorado. They are old and large enough to impact over 10,000 upstream water users, including Front Range providers tasked with delivering water to millions of people.
These Front Range cities have big questions about how exactly an environmental water right would work, citing concerns that the timing or amount of their Western Slope water supplies could be impacted.
About 40 local governments, recreation businesses, environmental groups, ditch companies, water providers and more have also weighed in on the controversial proposal.
Two months of additional time could give the different groups more room to negotiate, according to Alex Davis, assistant general manager of water supply and demand for Aurora Water.
One of Aurora Water’s main concerns is how the Shoshone’s more recent and smaller water right comes into play — and whether that could impact its water supply in Homestake Reservoir near Leadville
With more time, they might be able to find middle ground.
“There’s a lot on the table,” Davis said. “At least for a couple of the cities, there’s a belief that we can reach a negotiated settlement.”