Aspen Journalism (https://www.aspenjournalism.org/)
Snowmass Water and San is seeking a right to pump 500 AF of water a year from the Roaring Fork at the rate of 9 cfs.
As snowmaking increases on Aspen Mountain and the Snowmass Ski Area, more water will be diverted from local streams.
Aaron Million’s latest water-pipeline proposal may have run into opposition, but there is interest in water from the Green River along Colorado’s Front Range.
The commissioner of the Bureau of Reclamation says “the chance for crisis is far too high.”
“We know they’re working because they’re needed, because they want to work, and because employers need them.”
The “high-priority” 83-mile trail will encounter highways, rivers and neighbors concerned about limiting the impact on wildlife and the environment as the state pursues a more expansive trail connection
If drought persists, up to 2 million acre-feet of water may be released from Flaming Gorge, Blue Mesa and Navajo reservoirs to boost the falling level of water in Lake Powell.
Programs are now expected to be put together in Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico to bolster Lake Powell, and protect current and future uses in the upper Colorado River basin.
Engineer says water rights in the wilderness may not be not necessary to reach the Fry-Ark Project’s maximum diversions.
Upper basin states vote to execute agreements, lower basin states given until Jan. 31 to approve their agreements.