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Pitkin County budget amended to buy 4.68 Twin Lakes shares amid Healthy Rivers board reservations
Summary
The board approved a $442,500 supplemental appropriation to buy 4.68 shares in Twin Lakes Reservoir & Canal Company (approx. 3.5 acre-feet) despite Healthy Rivers and Streams Board reservations about marginal ecological value and calls for more quantitative analysis; staff said closing is expected in early September.
Pitkin County passed a supplemental appropriation to the 2026 budget of $442,500 to acquire 4.68 shares in the Twin Lakes Reservoir and Canal Company, plus roughly $1,500 in closing costs. County staff said the shares would yield about 3.5 acre-feet of water and that the closing is targeted for early September.
"The shares would yield about 3.5 acre feet," staff explained, adding a visualization that 3.5 acre-feet would cover a football field in 3.5 feet of water. Finance staff said the appropriation would come from the Healthy Rivers and Streams Fund and that projections show the purchase can be accommodated without jeopardizing fund balances.
Members of the Healthy Rivers and Streams Board spoke against the acquisition during public comment. "We don't currently have a good way to answer what the incremental River Health is for this $442,000," said the Healthy Rivers chair, citing the board's vote against the purchase and urging a joint session to analyze marginal value. Commissioners agreed to a joint meeting next week to allow the Healthy Rivers board and county staff to review engineering analyses and projected benefits before future acquisitions.
Despite those reservations, the BOCC approved the supplemental appropriation and later approved an ordinance authorizing the acquisition and closing.
