Home » The Colorado River District was awarded up to $40 million to protect the Western Slope’s ‘top water priority.’ But will they get it under Trump?

The Colorado River District was awarded up to $40 million to protect the Western Slope’s ‘top water priority.’ But will they get it under Trump?

President Trump ordered agencies to pause and review certain funding from Biden’s landmark climate laws, which could throw a wrench into the bipartisan-supported effort to secure water rights from the Colorado River.

Some of the oldest water rights on the Colorado River may finally belong to water users on the Western Slope if the Trump administration doesn’t stall the funding first. 

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation awarded up to $40 million on Friday to the Colorado River District, which advocates on behalf of Western Slope water users, to put towards purchasing two water rights from Xcel Energy. The state’s largest utility uses that water to generate electricity at its aging Shoshone facility, nestled in Glenwood Canyon on the Colorado River.