Keystone – The Denver Water board and a coalition of Western Slope cities, resorts and water districts met Wednesday to discuss a proposal aimed at averting future wars over diversions of Western Slope water.
While tight-lipped about the proposal’s details, the two factions did meet at a restaurant on Keystone’s summit to talk about how an agreement might usher in a new era of Colorado water negotiations.
Over time, relations across the Continental Divide have soured as Front Range consumption of Western Slope water has grown to about 200 billion gallons a year, according to a recent study.
“The time has come in Colorado to surpass parochial interest in ways to solve area-wide problems,” said Chips Barry, Denver Water’s manager.
In late May, the Western Slope coalition presented Denver Water with the proposal, which covers a variety of long-standing disputes ranging from financial compensation for future projects to ways of dealing with future problems.
Among the issues raised by the Western Slope proposal are:
Denver’s Moffat Collection System Project, which would take more water from the Fraser River in Grand County.
Denver’s planned increased take from Dillon Reservoir in Summit County.
The proposed reservoir near Wolcott for Denver, Aurora and the Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District.
“All of these issues are linked either through geography or ownership of rights and the reality of the increasing pressures being put upon the water resources in the state,” said Eric Kuhn of the Colorado River Water Conservation District.
“It makes the utmost sense for us to all be sitting at the table together to come up with a plan that works for everyone,” Kuhn said.
While many of the water issues have been haggled over for decades, Western Slope coalition members say they think their latest proposal could succeed.
That’s because officials from Grand, Summit, Eagle and Mesa counties are negotiating as one unified bloc, they say.
“The days of doing isolated projects are long gone,” said Glenn Porzak, a water attorney for several ski resorts.
Neither Western Slope water users or Denver Water officials would say how long they anticipate the talks will continue.
A small group of technical advisers to both sides were meeting late Wednesday to discuss existing water-supply studies and ones that might need to be commissioned to speed the talks along.
“I think one way to look at today is as a first date,” said Rick Sackbauer, with the Eagle River Water and Sanitation District. “We’ll decide where we want to go next if it all works out.”
Staff writer Kim McGuire can be reached at 303-820-1240 or at kmcguire@denverpost.com.
