The investment would come as part of a purchase and sale agreement signed in December by the Colorado River Water Conservation District, which represents 15 counties on the Western Slope, with the Public Service Company of Colorado, a subsidiary of Xcel Energy.
The importance of the small plant — the Shoshone Generating Station — is due to the Western concept of “water rights,” which uses a first-come, first-serve system to decide who gives up water during. shortage.
Western Slope stakeholders have long feared that the Shoshone’s rights, dating back to 1902 and 1929, could be sold to an upstream entity in Colorado’s Eastern Slope — diverting water that would otherwise flow downstream.
But, if the December purchase agreement is finalized, it would place the power station’s rights in the public’s hands.
The retention of Shoshone’s senior status would prevent the river from being “siphoned out of the headwaters,” said Andy Mueller, general manager of the Colorado River Water Conservation District.
Secure river flow would also strengthen the fish population, supporting the survival of both sport fishing and endangered animals, he said.
Read more from The Hill’s Sharon Udasin at TheHill.com.
