Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Water Rights topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Grand County OKs filing for party status in contested Shoshone water‑rights proceeding
Summary
Grand County commissioners authorized staff to file for party status at the Colorado Water Conservation Board’s contested hearing over the Shoshone water rights and directed county counsel and the manager to prepare pre‑hearing statements for board review ahead of the September meeting in Durango.
Grand County’s Board of County Commissioners authorized staff to file for party status in a contested Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) hearing over a proposed in‑stream flow interest tied to the Shoshone water rights, county manager (speaker 3) said at the July 1 meeting.
County Manager (speaker 3) outlined that Front Range water providers — Aurora Water, Colorado Springs Utilities, Denver Water and Northern Water — had requested a contested hearing and that CWCB staff recommended scheduling a hearing during the board’s September meeting in Durango. He said the contested filings focus on historic use calculations for a combined flow amount (senior 1,250 cfs and junior 158 cfs, about 1,408 cfs) and disputed whether certain historic reservoir releases should be counted toward Shoshone’s flow. “That’s what the fight is about,” he said, explaining the technical issues will ultimately be litigated in water court but that party status at CWCB allows Grand County and West Slope partners to file pre‑hearing statements and coordinate testimony in advance.
Commissioners voted to authorize filing the notice of party status and gave direction to staff and county legal counsel to draft pre‑hearing materials for subsequent board review. The motion to file for party status carried with an affirmative vote. County staff said a required notice for party status would be filed by July 9 if CWCB granted the hearing request and that any pre‑hearing statements would be returned to the board for approval prior to submission.
Why it matters: the contested CWCB process is the administrative step ahead of water‑court litigation over how much historic flow counts toward Shoshone’s senior rights and whether the CWCB’s proposed in‑stream flow acquisition alters longstanding water‑use calculations that affect West Slope and Front Range interests.
The next procedural step is the CWCB decisionwhether to schedule the contested hearing; if granted, Grand County staff and counsel will prepare pre‑hearing filings and coordinate West Slope testimony ahead of the September board meeting in Durango.
